The Power of One
by All-American Anteater
Summary: AU: What would happen if a seemingly ordinary girl of ordinary stature came into a school filled with power induced students with intentions other than passing her math test? What if she was truly from a secret organization that came because there was a tip that something evil was going on at the school? Looks like the students of Shibusen are in for a big surprise.
1. A New Mission

**Whoa, you guys haven't heard from me in a long time. You probably thought I was dead or something.**

**WELL, I'M NOT, SO YAY!**

**Here's the full summary:**

What would happen if a seemingly ordinary girl of ordinary stature came into a school filled with power induced students with intentions other than passing her math test? What if she was truly from a secret organization that came because there was a tip that something evil was going on at the school? Looks like the students of Shibusen are in for a big surprise.

Maka Albarn is different than most teenagers. She has supernatural abilities that make her valuable for fighting evil. Her mission this time is to enroll into Shibusen, a school for the supernatural, and stop the people conniving against it. But Maka has problems of her own as she gets nightmares depicting her rather tragic past. As she tries to save Shibusen, Maka also tries to recover the memories she lost, getting back the past she conveniently forgot.

**Genre: Suspense/Romance/Humor/Adventure**

**Rating: T for soon to be violence and language. Maybe romance? We'll see... ;)**

**Disclaimer ~ I do not own Soul Eater**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Maka Albarn was leisurely walking down a long narrow, narrow hallway, her ash-blond hair flowing freely behind her. She's walked down this hallway many times before. Now she just wonders what he'll want to talk to her about _this _time.

Maka sighed to herself.

_It better not be something lame like last month. That would probably be the most humiliating mission I have ever been on. Damn monkeys._

As it turned out, when you're supposed to be spying on a power-crazed cult in Indonesia, monkeys were not your best friend when it came to hiding.

She approached the door to his office and readied herself for whatever her employer and adoptive father was about to tell her.

When Maka opened the door and the middle-aged man in front of her smiled a warm smile. His name was Jonathan Marshall and he had midnight blue eyes and stark black hair with streaks of grey running through it. He always complained that it was all Maka's fault that he had grey hair (something about stress), but she assured him that it made him look distinguished.

"Ah Maka, it's about time you showed up." He smiled at her again as she sat down on the chair opposite of his desk.

"It's not my fault that I was eating when you called me. I couldn't let the food go to waste." She retorted, her piercing green eyes playfully narrowing at him.

"You are usually punctual."

"And you usually don't call during lunch."

Marshall chuckled and pulled out a file out of his desk, "Are you ready for another mission? This one is relatively harder and more dangerous than the others."

Maka looked over the file she was given and grinned, "Ooh, an infiltration mission? I haven't been on one of those before!"

"It's not necessarily an infiltration mission, Maka. You will be surrounded by good people." He leaned forward, "What you'll be doing is trying to locate the person that is conspiring against all of the staff and students at Shibusen."

Maka looked at him strangely, "Death's school for the extraordinary, located in Death City, Nevada. Who would even want to try to connive against it? With Lord Death himself as the headmaster, there is no possible way anyone could exceed."

Shibusen was created long ago for people who had astonishing abilities that did not know how to control them. The result of them not knowing how to control their powers was disastrous and was mostly pariahs in their communities. Death took it upon himself to construct a facility where these people can learn to control their powers and feel welcome among each other. Now it was a school for children that possessed these powers.

Marshall closed his eyes, "There are some things even Death can't stop."

Confused, Maka asked, "What do you mean?"

He waved her off, "That is for another time. Now, we need to discuss rooming arrangements. In order for you to blend in, you need to stay in the dorm rooms."

Maka groaned, "Please don't say what I think you're going to say."

"I'm sorry Maka, but it's for your own safety. With the amount of powers you have, it's safer for you to lay low."

It was true; Maka was a very powerful girl, more powerful than most adults. Ever since she was born, she was gifted with the power to absorb _other _people's power. All she had to do was touch the person and she acquired that specific ability.

"I don't see how I can do that when I'm living in the same proximity as a bunch of people."

Marshall sighed, "The academy has it set up in three different levels. Alpha for the rare powers, Beta for the semi-rare powers, and Gamma for the common*."

Maka finished his explanation, "So the weaker the power, the lower the level you are."

"To bluntly put it, yes, that is exactly what it is." Marshall pulled something from his pocket, "And this is to assure that no one will detect any power other than the one you are supposed to have."

What he pulled out was a silver and oval locket that was held on silver chain. Eyes wide, Maka opened up the locket finding a picture of her biological parents hugging each other and smiling.

"It's beautiful…" She whispered.

"I meant to give it to you for your sixteenth birthday, but you were away last month in Indonesia."

Gripping the locket, Maka rushed over to hug him. Ten years ago, her parents died to a reason that is still a mystery to her. She was told it was a car accident, but that's a total cliché to someone who knows about supernatural abilities. She's pretty sure it's not true, but she never pushed the subject. She's very grateful to have a reminder of them now.

"You're the best, Marshall!" She mumbled into his neck.

He smiled, "I know. This necklace is a power limiter that was designed to keep you from using any powers other than the ones programmed. And I figured if you going to wear it, it might as well be something you want to wear."

"Thank you!" She put the necklace on, "So what power am I 'programmed' to use?"

"Invisibility. It's useful, but very common. You'll also be able to shield your mind and body from any psychic attack." He leaned back in his chair, "But you'll also be able to mildly shock people, in case you're in trouble."

Maka sighed angrily, despite the amazing gift she received, "That's the problem with the set up they have with this school! You could have a stupid and useless power, but it would be 'rare', so you think you're better than everyone else!"

"You have a couple of rare powers." Marshall said, amused with Maka's rant.

"And what good is manipulating other people's memories in a fight? _That_ won't help me kick someone's ass!"

"But you could make a statement with the 'stupid and useless powers' and stick up for the other students."

Maka stopped fuming and smirked at him, "It's like you read my mind."

And that was ironic because Marshall's own power was reading minds. Too bad Maka was wearing her special necklace.

Maka laughed, feeling relatively better than before. Marshall was always able to make her feel better, "So I go to this school as a Gamma level student trying to gain information on someone planning to take over Shibusen. Anything else I should know?"

"Death's son, Death the Kid, will be helping you with the investigation. He's already attends the school, so he'll be able to show you around, show you who's trustworthy."

"That definitely makes things easier for me."

Marshall nodded, "Great, your uniforms are in your room and your flight to Death City leaves tomorrow at noon! Now go pack, I heard the weather is very volatile there."

Maka raised an eyebrow, "And California doesn't?"

"You've never been to Death City. Now shoo, you have a big day tomorrow."

And with that, Maka left her adoptive father's office to pack for what is to be a _very _interesting trip.

**XxXxX**

Maka looked at the uniform on her bed. It consisted of a navy blue tie, a white, long sleeve blouse with a navy, almost black blazer to go over it, and a red pleated skirt. The blazer itself had the Greek symbol for gamma on the left breast pocket. The uniform also had black knee socks and a pair of black loafers. It was the typical school girl outfit.

She was given five uniforms for each day of the week, so she placed all of them into her blue duffle bag. She glanced at the shoes and grimaced.

_These shoes are so not my style._

She may be considered a nerd, but she did _not _wear loafers, even if it was a part of the dress code.

She gave the shoes a disgusted glance and walked over to her closet. She pulled her favorite pair of shoes; black combat boots with white buckles. She looked at the loafers again and placed them in the duffle bag.

She wasn't planning on wearing the loafers to school, but just in case her combat boots caused problems, she would have them as a backup.

She dragged out her other duffle bag and threw in some shirts, jean shorts, jeans, pajamas, and all of the girly necessities she would need for this trip. She didn't pack any formal wear or anything like that because one: she saw no need for dresses on this trip, and two: she figured it would save room in her bags.

She was constantly on missions anyways, so she never needed to wear one anyways. And even if she did have to wear a dress, she could always just buy one there.

She sighed, looking at the two bags. She was kinda nervous about attending this new school. It was the middle of the school year and all of the cliques would have been formed already. She'd be the new girl, the new girl with uncool powers. She may be a part of a secret organization that stopped evil, but she was still a sixteen year old girl.

She still worried about stuff like that, no matter how silly it seemed.

_Whatever happens, I still have a job to do._

She walked over to her closet again and grabbed a small backpack. She proceeded to throw in things she wanted to bring along, like one of her favorite books, her phone, and her personal journal that she wrote all of her poems and stories in. Writing was her outlet of frustration, misery, and happiness, so it was absolutely necessary to bring with her.

Maka shoved the bags near her door and crawled into bed. Staring at the ceiling, she gripped her necklace.

_Whatever happens, I still have a job to do._

* * *

***In the Greek alphabet, alpha means A, beta means B, and gamma means C. Makes sense that I would use it as a level system, right? :)**

**Sorry it's so short and boring. The beginning is going to be a bit slow, but I swear it'll get better.**

**Please review and tell me what you thought! **


	2. Arrival

"You sure you know what to do, Maka?" Marshall asked her, looking at the jet in front of him.

Maka rolled her eyes, "Yes, we've went over this several times already."

He nodded, "Okay, when you arrive at Death City, Death the Kid will be there to pick you up and introduce you to his father."

"He's the only one that knows about me, right? Him and Death the Kid?"

"Yes, and you must be sure to keep your identity a secret."

Maka grinned at him, "That would defeat the purpose of going under cover if everyone knew why I was there."

"You can never be too careful, Maka. And when you do receive any information, make sure you contact me immediately!"

She slowly nodded, "But what if a situation calls for immediate action-!"

"No buts, Maka. With the information we've gathered already, we know that whoever is plotting against Shibusen is extremely dangerous." Marshall gave her a stern look, "I don't want you to do anything that will get you killed."

"I would never do anything to get myself killed." Maka protested.

He sighed and hugged her, "Just be careful."

Maka returned the hug, "I will."

"It's time for you to go." He let go of her, "And when you get there, no boys allowed in your dorm! You're not allowed to date anyone either!"

Maka face turned beet red, "Marshall!"

He laughed, "I'm just kidding! Not really, but don't forget to have fun also, Maka. You _are _still a teenager."

Feeling slightly awkward now, Maka said, "Uh, yeah, sure. I better get going… Bye!"

"Bye Maka!" Marshall shoved his hands in his pockets as he watch Maka get on the plane.

When Maka got comfortable on the plane, she looked around, taking everything in. Grabbing her book out of her bag, she sighed to herself.

_And let the adventure begin._

**XxXxX**

Maka lied against the plane window, sleeping peacefully with her book in her lap. There was something about plane rides that always made her fall asleep…

"Miss Albarn, we've arrived at Death City." The pilot of the plane called out over an intercom.

Maka roused from her sleep and looked around tiredly. In a daze, she grabbed her carry-on, making sure to grab her two duffle bags from the overhead compartment.

Exiting the plane, she saw a tall boy with raven black hair with three white stripes running on one side of his head with a shiny black Jeep next to him. Behind him, she saw a towering city surrounded by barren desert, making the Jeep look extremely out of place. The dusty wind whipped at his hair, the blaring sun beating down on them.

His golden eyes looked her up and down and said, "You're Maka Albarn, I presume?"

She nodded with the same expression on her face, "And you're Death the Kid?"

He laughed, taking her bags, "Please, call me Kid! There is no need for formalities!"

She smiled and noticed his uniform, which had a white alpha symbol on the breast pocket. "So I'm guessing you're a part of the Alphas?"

Kid looked at his uniform, "Yeah, I am. Did Marshall explain the way the school is set up?"

"Briefly."

"Then I'll explain anything you want to know while we drive up to the city." Maka nodded, following him into the car

Starting the car, Kid told her, "We're going to have a few classes together, to ensure that we will be able to meet up and discuss possibilities if we need to. I'll also introduce you to my friends as well."

Maka nodded, slightly relieved she'll be able to know someone. "That's good. We can plan better that way." She turned to look at him, "Do your friends know?"

Kid shook his head, "No, Father make it clear that the only ones that know is him, a select few of the administration, and us."

"Okay. But you're sure it's not them? I mean, I have a reason to trust them, right?"

Kid nodded with absolute conviction, "Of course. I've known them since middle school and they have always been supportive of anything I do. They are the best people I know."

Maka nodded to his response, wearily trusting his judgment. It was hard for her to trust people in general, so putting her faith in people she didn't even know was extremely difficult. But one of the people she _did _trust, which happened to be her father, trusted Kid, so she did too.

Once they started the drive to Death City, she looked out the window for a moment, wondering how exactly to phrase this question. She shrugged to herself and bluntly asked, "Did you find anything out yet?"

Kid took a moment to answer, looking frustrated, "Not yet. I got the information about the investigation yesterday, just like you did."

"I wish I was able to use my Soul Perception. It would make things _so_ much easier…"

Kid raised an eyebrow, "You have Soul Perception? That's a pretty rare power."

Maka shrugged, "Yeah, my mother had that power, so of course…"

"That's right; you have power mimicry! My father told me about that!"

Maka nodded, looking a bit uneasy. She never liked talking about herself. There really wasn't much to talk about anyways. So, to change the subject, she asked, "What's your power?"

"I have a weaker form of Soul Perception and temporal manipulation."

"Cool, so you can control time." Kid nodded, pulling into the gates of Death City. After a few minutes of navigating the streets, they finally reached a massive structure that Maka was sure to be Shibusen.

"Ah, here we are." Kid looked up at the enormous building standing on top of what seemed to be a thousand steps.

Maka inwardly groaned, not pleased about the amount of steps she would have to climb.

It was a good thing that Marshall made her train and work out constantly.

When the two reached the top of the steps, Kid led her down a series of hallways, some more steps and some _more _hallways before she walked down a long corridor with guillotines on the ceiling. They finally reached a large door, which Kid opened.

"Hello, hello, hello! What's up, Kiddo?" A tall figure in a black cloak and skull mask chirped out.

"Hello father. Maka's here with me." He motioned his hands toward Maka. Maka stood there shyly, unsure of what to do. She was in the presence of Death after all. All she knew of him were mere stories Marshall told her.

"Oh, Maka! It's nice to finally meet you!" Lord Death clapped his hands, "I hope you settled in nicely?"

Maka wasn't really sure what she expected of Lord Death, but it sure wasn't this.

"Uh, I guess, but I-!" Maka was cut off by Kid.

"Father, don't you want to say anything about the person who wants to take over Shibusen?"

"I'm sure you two know where to start."

Maka spoke up, "Don't you have any suspicions of _who _this person might be?"

"Nope. Would you like some tea?"

Maka ignored his question, "So we have no leads at all?"

"I guess not." Kid responded through gritted teeth.

Maka closed her eyes in annoyance. She was supposed to find a way to protect this school, and how was she supposed to do that if she didn't know who to watch out for? And the only power she had at the moment was invisibility, which was not very helpful in reading people's emotions and what their motives are.

Wiping any trace of annoyance and worry from her face, she said with complete confidence, "Lord Death, I can assure you that I will do anything I can to find out who this person is." She turned to Kid, "Can you take me to the dorms? I should probably unpack now considering classes start again tomorrow."

"Of course, goodbye Father."

"See you later, Kiddo! And nice to meet you again Maka! I'm sure you will find out who is plotting against Shibusen!" He also added, "And all of the books you'll need will be in your dorm!"

Maka nodded in understanding and continued to father Kid out of the room. Lord Death smiled under his mask at the two retreating figures, "Such a sweet girl."

**XxXxX**

Maka was unpacking her clothes from her duffle bag and hanged them in her dorm closet. Her half of the room was quite bare, a lot different than the other half. Maka had yet to meet her roommate; Maka guessed she was out right now because it was Sunday and no one wanted to be caught on school grounds on the weekend.

She looked around the room. It consisted of two beds with white sheets and comforters and two desks. On the side of the room that wasn't hers was slightly cluttered with random papers, but was still neat nonetheless. What distinguished it the most was the collection of colorful stuffed animals on the bed.

Maka pouted, looking at her own bed. It's been so long since she had a stuffed animal…

She mentally slapped herself. Thoughts like that won't save Shibusen.

The door suddenly opened, revealing a girl with pigtailed black hair. Her dark eyes brightened, "Ooh, you must be my new roommate! I'm Tsugumi Harudori!"

Maka smiled, "Hi, I'm Maka Albarn."

"It's so cool to have a roommate! I was on my own so far, since I was late in registration." She exclaimed, "It's my first year here too! Here, let me see your schedule."

Maka handed her a schedule that was included in the file Marshall given her, "Wow, you've skipped a whole grade level! Is your power super-intelligence, or something?"

Maka laughed at Tsugumi's enthusiasm, "No, I actually have invisibility."

"Good, because I was going to say that you should be a beta if that _was _your power. I mean, I can tell you're a gamma because it says so on your schedule… But anyways, you must be super smart!"

Maka smiled at this girl's enthusiasm, "Thanks. What is your power, Tsugumi?"

"Phasing, like being able to pass through walls and stuff? But I can only slip my hand through solid objects like _paper_ and stuff so far…" She trailed off, pouting. "But that's okay! I'm getting closer to being able to pass my whole body through walls!"

Maka sat on her bed, "Doesn't it bother you that the school separated us by our power level and rarity? I would think it would be a source for bullying." Maka couldn't blame herself for asking. She was curious.

Tsugumi waved at Maka dismissively, "Not really. There are only a few people who make fun of the gammas, so it's easy to ignore. Besides, it's much easier to practice our powers when we're grouped together like this."

Maka looked confused, "Practice?" No one told her about _this._

"Yeah, all of the different levels can train with their powers after classes. It's mandatory, so we can control our powers better."

Maka cringed on the inside. Invisibility is about as low as you can get when it comes to power strength, so 'practice' should be really easy.

_Too easy if you ask me._

Wanting to change the subject, Maka asked, "Do you know where any of my classes are?"

Tsugumi nodded, "Yeah, I can lead you there tomorrow. Since the junior classes are on my way to the sophomore building, it would be no problem!"

Maka smiled at the girl in front of her. She may not to be able to use her powers to read people's intentions, but she could tell that Tsugumi was _not _evil in anyway. Marshall taught her how to read people's body language and such to get a feeling of what they are truly like. Maka was worried that she would actually be in the room with the culprit and then get stabbed in the middle of the night, but now she knew that wouldn't be the case. Tsugumi was too nice, and welcomed her without a second glance.

Tomorrow, Maka started her classes and the investigation, and it was sure to be interesting.

* * *

**Okay, yeah, this is a filler. But you get to meet Soul in the next chappy~! XD**

**But you know, I had the the whole third chapter and half of the fourth all typed out and my computer just... deleted it. I was so mad. **

**But I retyped it all, and I actually like this result better, so yay!**

**Hoped you liked this informational filler and please review! It makes my day!**


	3. An Uncanny Introduction

_Fire. Fire everywhere. Surrounding her._

_It felt like someone was gripping her throat. The smoke… It was suffocating… She couldn't breathe!_

_Her throat burning, Maka staggered around the burning room, trying to find a way out. She tripped and collapsed onto the floor. The fire was so hot… Maybe lying down wasn't such a bad idea…_

"_No!" Maka forced the words out of her throat, "I have to get out!"_

_Her throat was closing in, suffocating her; it was so hard to breath. Her already blurred vision was darkening as she was losing consciousness. A voice was screaming at her to get up. Get up…_

_Who was it?_

_Get up!_

_It called to her again. Was that a female voice?_

_Maka struggled to get up. But the attempt was futile as the deadly heat of the fire overcame her._

_Would it be so bad if she just fell asleep?_

_She was so tired…_

_Would it be so bad?_

_All she wanted to do was just fall asleep… _

Maka's emerald eyes shot open. They glanced around the room in petrifying panic for a moment before she sighed with great relief.

It was always the same damn dream. She had it for as long as she could remember, but she never told anyone about the recurring dream. The dream worried her because it was, of course, repetitive, and they always meant something. She read in a psychology magazine that it could be a traumatizing memory that her brain forced her not to remember.

The idea that this might have _actually _happened to her terrified her. And because of this, she left the idea alone. It didn't help that the dream, or nightmare as she preferred to call it, kept coming back.

It didn't help that she had an overwhelming fear of fire.

"Oh good, you're awake! You better get up because it's your first day of school!" Tsugumi skipped around the room.

Maka sat up, her nightmare forgotten for the time being, "What time is it?"

"About six! Classes start at seven and I wanted to give you plenty of time to get ready!" She threw Maka's uniform at her, "Now go get dressed!"

Maka caught the clothes and got up, walking to their shared bathroom. She put on her uniform and looked herself over. The skirt fell to her mid-thigh, and the blazer clung to her figure nicely. She may not be as curvaceous as other girls, but that didn't mean that she didn't have any breasts at all.

She began to put her ash-blond hair into twin pigtails, not bothering to put on any make up, not that she ever did. She had never felt it was worth it.

Maka stepped out of the bathroom and searched for her combat boots. Sighing happily, she began to lace them up, "I won't get in trouble for not wearing the loafers, will I? I really don't want to wear them, but I don't want to get in trouble on my first day, either."

Tsugumi glanced at the shoes and laughed, "Of course not! As long as they're not anything to ridiculous, you'll be fine! You will be making quite the fashion statement, though!"

Maka looked at her shoes, "I just want to wear them because they're comfortable."

_And it's a lot easier to run in these. _ Maka thought to herself.

"Well I love them! I just think they're so cool! Liz will probably think so too."

Maka cocked her head in confusion, "Who's Liz?"

"She's a junior in the Alpha level. She's one of the nicer ones too." Tsugumi smiled at Maka, "She'll probably rush over to be your friend just by your shoes!"

Maka gave a slight, nervous nod. Maybe she should change shoes… Just to blend in more.

"Well come on, Maka! Breakfast is going to start soon!" Tsugumi grabbed Maka's hand and rushed out the door, both of their backpacks for school in hand.

_Well so much for lying low..._

**XxXxX**

With the drowsy sun just peeking over the horizon, Tsugumi and Maka walked toward the cafeteria. Tsugumi was showing Maka every single aspect of the academy, which was actually quite helpful considering she didn't have a map of the campus.

"And here's the cafeteria! They serve awesome food; unlike the crappy stuff other schools serve. This place really is awesome!" Tsugumi told Maka excitedly.

The building was an average looking building with large windows across the walls and two large glass doors in the middle. It was basically what you would expect a typical college cafeteria would look like.

"Come on Maka, let's go in!" Tsugumi dragged her into the cafeteria. That girl was just too enthusiastic…

She led Maka to a buffet-like table with many assortments of breakfast foods. There were pancakes, eggs, bacon, waffles… way too much to count.

Already having a plate full of pancakes, Tsugumi said, "I'll be sitting over there if you want to sit with me and my friends!" She pointed to a table of two girls, "But if anyone asks you to sit with them, feel free! You got to meet new people, you know?"

Maka looked at her roommate, "Are you sure? Because-!"

But Tsugumi already had a plate full of food and was walking towards her group of friends.

Maka stared at the direction Tsugumi walked in, shocked. Maka will probably never understand how that girl can have so much energy at this hour of the mourning. Maybe she had an energy drink or something after she woke up…

Shaking the thought away from her mind, she began to pile her plate with the delicious looking food, oblivious to the commotion around her.

Several tables away from Maka, a tall, blond girl, along with her younger sister, were looking at Kid eagerly.

"Are you serious, Kid?! We're getting a new student today?!" The younger, shorter blond asked excitedly.

"Yes Patty, we're getting a new student today. Father told me this yesterday."

Liz gave him a furious look, "And you didn't think to tell us sooner?"

Kid shrugged, "I didn't realize you would want to know."

A white haired boy rolled his crimson eyes, "What's the big deal about some new girl? It's nothing to get so hyped up about."

"But that's where you're wrong, Soul!" A boy with electric blue hair threw an arm around him, "She could be hot!"

A tall, raven haired girl gave the boy a shocked look, "Black*Star!"

He looked at the girl incredulously, "What, Tsubaki? I'm just saying-!"

Liz cut him off, giving him a disgusted look, "Black*Star, you're such a pig."

Black*Star waved them off, "Whatever, I'm going to get something to eat." He stomped off to the buffet table.

"Hence the reason why you are a pig. This is like, your third helping." Liz muttered.

Kid's eyes glanced around the table Black*Star was currently at. Spotting Maka, he said, "Hey, there she is. Black*Star is so oblivious that he doesn't even realize she's right next to him."

"Ooh, where Kid, where?" Patty piped up, jumping up and down.

"Next to Black*Star, the girl with the pigtails. Her name is Maka."

Soul looked at the girl Kid pointed out, and had to admit, she wasn't bad looking at all. While she was lacking in the chest department, she definitely made up for it with her legs. And he had to admit, he was more of a leg kind of guy.

Liz would murder him if he knew what he was thinking. Something about objectifying women and all of that feminist crap.

Looking at where Kid was pointing, Liz's face brightened, "Ooh, look at her shoes! I _have_ to go say hi!"

Soul stopped her, a baffled look on his face, "_What_? Why?"

"It's her first day here. Don't you remember what it was like when you first arrived here? It has to be scary for her to be by herself on her first day at a new school." Tsubaki spoke up.

"In the middle of the school year, no less." Kid stated.

"I get that, but-!"

"Soul, how can you _not _say hi to her? Just _look at her shoes!"_

Soul looked at her incredulously, "Do you not hear how ridiculous you sound?"

"You know, you can tell a lot by a person's shoes." Liz said, ignoring him.

Soul scoffed, "Yeah? How?"

Liz looked thoughtful for a moment, and then said, "Well, she looks like those types of girls that would get pushed around easily."

Patty piped up, "Because she's so tiny!"

Soul rolled his crimson eyes in exasperation, "And because she's wearing combat boots, she's tougher than she looks. You know what, that is probably the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"No, seriously! Those shoes make her look badass!"

"There just shoes! Footwear! Things to put on your feet to walk in."

Liz was about to say something about how boys just didn't get fashion, Tsubaki quickly stepped in, not wanting Soul and Liz argue anymore, "Liz, why don't we go over and introduce ourselves."

Kid glanced over to the food table, "That might be a good idea. Black*Star's getting a bit… intense."

And sure enough, Black*Star was vigorously talking to Maka who looked half amused, half annoyed. It was obvious that she was trying to escape Black*Star, but he was making it quite difficult.

Tsubaki sighed, "That boy and his energy…"

Liz closed her eyes, "Yeah, we need to go over there."

"I don't think you need too. She just wacked him in the head with a book." Soul laughed, staring at the two. That definitely sparked his interest in the new girl. Anyone who is willing to take down Black*Star, which is not many, has to be pretty cool. Maybe Liz was right about the shoe thing…

As if it were a trade, Liz, Patty, and Tsubaki walked over to Maka while Black*Star sulked back with a plate full of food.

"She really did a number on you, didn't she Black*Star?" Soul laughed.

Black*Star glared at the table for a moment, then laughed. He had the resiliency of a nine year old. Nothing could bring him down. "That chick's got an arm. Wouldn't be surprised if she played football or something."

Kid chuckled, "I'm surprised you're taking being beat up by a girl more less half your size so well."

Black*Star scowled, "Getting hit in the head with a hard cover book freaking hurts, dude."

Soul rolled his eyes, "Whatever you say, man."

Oblivious to Soul's sarcasm, Black*Star said, "Hey, did you guys know she's a junior? She skipped like, a whole grade level. She's like a freaking genius."

Soul smirked at him, knowing waht he was about to say would piss him off, "With all of this talk about her, it's starting to sound like you're in love with her."

"Dude, no. You know I have a thing for Tsubaki." Black*Star deadpanned. Kid, looking at his two friends with a tired expression on his face, could not believe that Black*Star was _actually_ falling for Soul's jeering again. This exact thing happens probably every day at some point.

Soul's smirk grew wider, "Now if only you would make a move on her."

"You shut your mouth, albino!" Black*Star took his spoon and flung some scrambled eggs at Soul's face.

With a totally blank and cool expression on his face, Soul scraped the eggs off of his face. Then, with pure precision, he grabbed a fistful of Kid's eggs and returned the favor, much to Kid's disdain and horror.

Eyes widened, Kid exclaimed, "I can't eat this now! It's been contaminated!"

But Kid's cry of displeasure went unheard as Black*Star glared at Soul with eggs dripping off of his face. He was not about to let Soul have the last move.

So, as a result, Soul ended up with syrup covered pancakes sticking to his face.

Kid might as well of given Soul his plate of food, considering he wasn't getting use out of the food.

Right in the middle of it all, the girls showed up to witness the food war.

Liz groaned, "What the hell?"

Black*Star pointed at Soul, "He started it!"

Incredulously, Soul shouted, "I did not! You were the one who threw eggs in my face!"

"Well, you were the one who-!"

"Well, you know what Black*Star? You're both at fault because you two ruined the balance of the school and most importantly, the sanitary goodness of my food!" Kid exclaimed, clearly distressed.

Tsubaki sighed, "This is a _great_ first impression."

Liz turned to Maka, "We're normal, I swear. This doesn't happen that often."

Patty giggled, "Yes, it does."

Tsubaki smiled a very tired smile, as if she was used to this sort of thing and cut into the boys argument, "Guys, this is Maka. She moved here from California."

The boys all turned to her and muttered hellos.

Liz looked at them with frustrated eyes, "Yeah, those three idiots are Kid, Soul and Black*Star."

She waved and smiled to herself. Kid definitely didn't tell her he had very strange friends. And that he wasn't always the focused and calm person she met the day before.

Totally forgetting the past fight he had with Soul he asked Maka with a mouth full of food, "Hey, you never said what power you had. So what _can _you do?"

Well, she was about to find out how they would respond to her somewhat pathetic power. Given, they were quite welcoming, considering she had the gamma logo on her uniform, so they might have no reaction. Kid already knows her whole story, and she already told Liz, Patty, and Tsubaki, about her power. She might be surprised by the two remaining boys.

Maka smiled, "I can turn invisible."

Soul nodded, "Cool. Can you turn your clothes invisible too? Not many people can do that that have invisibility."

"Well, you could, you would just have to practice. It's possible to make other objects invisible as well, I believe." Tsubaki pointed out.

Despite what Tsubaki said, Soul's question was a good one. Maka didn't really know either. Well, it wouldn't hurt to try.

She demonstrated her ability, and thankfully, her clothes disappeared along with her body. Maka figured it would have been extremely embarrassing and rude if she couldn't turn her clothes invisible. How insolent would it be if her clothes didn't vanish? It would be like saying _Uh, no, you idiot. Why would you ask such a daft question?_

But it was good to know that she wouldn't have to strip her clothes if she wanted to be truly invisible. This would undoubtedly come in handy later on.

Liz smirked, "Excellent." Maka gave her a questioning look, but Liz waved her off. Apparently she would have to ask about that later.

After the introductions have been made, the shrill of the bell rang, signifying the end of breakfast and the start of the school day.

Tsubaki smiled at Black*Star, "We should probably go get you cleaned up."

He gave her a goofy grin, "Yeah, let's go!" He grabbed her hand and rushed out of the cafeteria.

Maka grinned inwardly at the two. Something had to be going on with the two, and she had to admit, it was kind of adorable.

Liz looked at Maka, "We gotta run. We, sadly, have gym first period, and it's on the other side of campus." And with that, Liz and Patty, went off to the other end of the cafeteria and exited out the back door, leaving Maka alone with Soul.

Still disgruntled, Kid muttered, "I got to go calm down. It seems that the commotion this morning as gotten me wound up." And with that, he left the cafeteria as well.

Soul shook his head, "Sorry about him. He kind of has an OCD for order and symmetry and things like that." Soul then got up, looking at Maka, "So what's your next class?" As a joke he added, "I'm not inconsiderate like them. _I _actually care about you not getting lost."

Maka laughed, taking her schedule out of her bag, "Math with Ms. Azusa."

Soul smirked, "Just your luck, I have that class too, along with Kid and Tsubaki." As they made their way out of the cafeteria, Soul grabbed several napkins and a water bottle to clean his face off.

"What exactly did Black*Star say to make you hit him with a book? That was probably the best thing I've ever seen."

Maka scowled, not pleased with the reminder, "First he said I looked twelve, and then called me a belligerent bookworm when I _nicely_ _said _I was sixteen."

Soul raised a brow. There was no way Black*Star said a word like that, "_He_ said belligerent?"

"Well… no. But that's basically what he meant."

He laughed, and then Maka asked, "So what are you all's powers? I forgot to ask earlier." It was best to know what to look out for, just in case anyone wanted to try something against her.

"Well, I have the power to basically make you do whatever I want. Persuasion. I also have telekinesis." Maka nodded, carefully hiding her unease and disappointment that Soul wasn't the one with a useless and stupid power, "Liz can teleport, Kid can control time, and her sister, Patty, ironically has super strength."

Maka grimaced, "I guess I don't want to get into a fight with her."

"Ha, no you don't. Black*Star, who has heightened strength, speed, and senses, picked a fight with her and wound up getting kicked in the balls." Soul laughed, shaking his head at the memory. "But Tsubaki, who can sense and… change, I guess, your emotions, calmed him down and relaxed his damaged and hyperactive ego."

Maka smiled. It seems to her that she met a great group of people. It's been a while since she had a friend. In her line of work, it was dangerous because your enemies could use it against you. But for her, at this moment, it was nice. Exultant even.

But, of course, reminded her that she would have to ask Kid more about these people. She didn't know these people at all, hell, she didn't even know Kid. But Lord Death trusted him, and Marshall trusted Lord Death, so she was going to have to go on that. Everyone had the power to take down Shibusen, or at least help with it.

Maka was almost sure someone was working with someone inside the school. There was absolutely no way one single person could take down the school. It could be an unknown organization for all she knew. But for now, before she could get solid evidence on who the mastermind and their accomplices are, she would have to analyze everyone, as robotic as that sounds.

She would need to get to know everyone before she even considered looking for clues.

* * *

**Some shameless Soma for you all. And some foreshadowing opportunities...**

**You know, I feel that this story is a lot like how you feel when you're running in muddy sand on the beach and your super slow, but then you _finally _get out of the muddy sand and you're running like the wind...**

**I told you guys this story was going to be a bit slow in the beginning.**

**Whatever, hope you enjoyed! And please review! I wanna know what you guys thought! **


	4. The Importance of Prank Week

Well, Maka has gotten through her first day of school, and needless to say, she was glad to be in the calm that is the library.

Her first period, pre-calculus, was boring enough, with doing nothing but problems out of the textbook, and it just so happened that she got stuck with Black*Star in her second period class.

It just had to be Spanish… At least he made it interesting.

To make matters even more… interesting, he had both biology _and _gym with her, so she could never get away from his gigantic ego and hyperactivity. But to her mercy and relief, Kid and everyone else, minus Liz and Patty, were in those two classes as well, so she didn't have to deal with him alone.

Actually, she had at least one class with each of them. It was quite the coincidence.

Laughing silently to herself at the fact that her, dare she say it, new friends were very funny and strange, she sat herself down at one of the library computers.

The reason she was actually there was because her history teacher (it wasn't even actually history. They learned about the history of supernatural beings. That has nothing to do with the Revolutionary War) said something peculiar about Grigori souls, which Maka didn't even know about.

And she detested not knowing things.

Her teacher, Ms. Eruka, said that people who possessed these types of souls were generally manipulative and very, very powerful.

Maka had no background knowledge of Grigori souls, and the way she said it with disgust and poorly concealed hatred didn't go unnoticed by her, unlike her fellow classmates. Although, Soul, who happened to be in that class with her, _did _look at Ms. Eruka strangely at her strong opinion on the matter, but he just shrugged it off.

Maka _didn't _shrug it off, and decided to research the topic. It might give her clues on certain things.

Maka typed in _Grigori _into the search engine, but all she got was stuff about watcher angels and their hierarchy. She even got something on Grigori Rasputin, which she was absolutely sure was not what she was looking for.

She sat back for a moment, looking at the screen. Then she added _souls _into the engine, and got a little bit better of a result, but it was still not enough. The best website she could find was _ .net _and all it said was that the souls were very rare and took the shape of an angel. Then the site went on and on about the hierarchy of angels, hence the site name.

Maka groaned, frustrated. She needed more information if she was going to find out why Ms. Eruka acted so disgusted towards a thing that probably didn't even exist.

She shut down the computer and walked toward the librarian at the desk, "Hello, do you have any books on Grigori souls?"

The librarian looked up from his book, a flash of anxiety crossing his face, "Grigori souls? I don't think anyone has asked for a book on them in a while. Here, let me check."

While he went into the backroom, Maka glanced around. Seeing the computer, Maka made a mental note that that could be very useful later on. She also peered into the backroom where the librarian went, and got a glimpse of something that confused her greatly.

Off to the side, she could have sworn she saw the gleam of a lock reflecting off of the light before the door closed.

_Huh. _

Snapping Maka out of her reverie, the librarian came back with a relatively large book in hand and checked it out for her, "Do you mind me asking why you would want such a book?"

Maka took the book from his hands, "Just the topic we're learning about in class."

Without waiting for another comment, she walked away from the desk, deeper into the library. She really wanted to get away from the librarian, to be alone. She wasn't too fond of people questioning why she did certain things. It was her business. And that librarian creeped her out…

Once Maka finally settled into an area she deemed secluded enough, she took a look at the book that was given to her. The title read _The History of the Soul _and was just the thing she was looking for.

The first couple of chapters read on how human souls can be easily corrupted by power and evil influence. She flipped through the pages, half bored, half interested in the information, when she finally came across the chapter _Grigori Souls_.

_Grigori is originally the collective name for a group of angels who lost grace, and they are also known as watchers. Originally it is told that the Grigori were sent to look after, guide, and assist man during the beginning of civilization. Sadly these angels were not suited to this job and instead of playing a positive role, they began to teach man sciences that God had deemed to be forbidden. _

_It is these same angels who are referred to as the Sons of God in the Book of Genesis. According to Christian belief their sins filled the Earth with violence and the world was destroyed as a result of their intervention. Richard Cavendish, in his book, The Powers of Evil, makes references to the possibilities of the Giants mentioned in Genesis 6:4, being the Giants or Titans of Greek Mythology. He also lists the Watchers as the fallen angels which magicians call forth in ceremonial magic. Cavendish mentions that the Watchers were so named because they were stars, the "Eyes of Night."_

_But there are a select few of watchers that strive to protect humanity, therefore the makeup of their souls are made of a lighter, more innocent complexion. While there were few good Grigori, their darker counterpart dominates the population._

_In the soul sense of the word, a Grigori soul is a rare type of soul that takes a shape of an angel, with angel-like wings protruding from the soul and a halo-like figure on top. The human that possesses this soul have a power like no other. Much like their ancestors, there are two kinds of the soul; the dark and the light. While the dark dominates the light in numbers, the powers the souls possess differ greatly._

_The bearers of the light Grigori soul are honest, independent, loyal by nature, and strive to protect, whilst their dark counterparts are naturally deceptive and use vile mendacities to achieve their goals. While the bearers of light Grigori souls act on their own terms, the dark Grigori normally follow a sort of caretaker and venerate them to the point of everlasting servitude. _

Absorbing this information, Maka leaned back in her chair, a look of contemplation crossing her face. The fact that the origins of the Grigori were quite cruel and recalcitrant, there should be no reason her history teacher had such derision to something that may not even exist. It was a myth. There were supposedly even a few _good _Grigori souls out there and Ms. Eruka didn't even mention them.

But it was too soon to tell if the Grigori soul meant anything. For all she knew, she was over reading this whole thing and Ms. Eruka was perfectly safe and had nothing to do with taking down Shibusen at all. But the one thing she learned from Marshall is that nothing is as they seem and to _always _be thorough with anything she does. It could mean life or death.

Maka closed the book and put it in her bag before Liz came rushing to her, "Maka! Kid told me you'd probably be here!"

Surprised, Maka looked at her, "Um, Hi Liz. Do you need anythi-?"

Liz cut her off, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, enough with the chit-chat. The boys are planning right now as we speak. We have no time to lose."

**XxXxX**

Considering Shibusen is a massive school, it is no surprise that the girls' dorms have a substantially large living room when you first walk in. When Liz dragged Maka away from the library with no explanation, it shocked and confused Maka to see the room full of girls, all chatting intensively.

Maka turned toward Liz, "Uh, what's going on?"

"Prank Week."

Before Maka could ask Liz to elaborate, Tsubaki walked up, "In about three weeks, the girls and boys have a prank war. It's pretty much an unofficial tradition at this school."

Kim, who was in Maka's language arts class, added, "Yeah, and last year, the girls lost badly."

"I blame last year's seniors. Those little pussies…" Liz growled.

Tsubaki continued, "Anyways, we all decided that we would actually prepare this year. It was quite humiliating last year and I doubt any of the girls want to go through that again."

Getting right to the chase, a beta senior named Abby nodded and spoke, "Alright girls, we all know that last year's Prank Week was a horrible defeat for us with all of the half-assed pranks we pulled." Everyone nodded, "But before we get started on the actual planning, we need someone to keep score. Any volunteers?"

After a few seconds, Tsugumi timidly raised her hand, "I'll do it. I pretty much have no clue what's going on anyways."

Maka definitely understood why her roommate was reluctant to participate in this prank war. She was new to this school too.

Abby nodded, "Cool. Everything will be explained on the first day, so you have nothing to worry about." Much to Maka's surprise, the older girl turned toward her, "You're Maka, right? Liz told me you have invisibility." When Maka nodded, she continued, "That is totally great because I have a few things planned that involve your help. I don't know any girls who actually have that power."

Maka needed a few things cleared up before they went any further, "Okay, that's great and all, but is this okay? I mean, won't the administration get mad?"

"Oh, sorry! I totally forgot you're new. They're okay with it as long as you don't hurt anyone, nothing gets vandalized, and it won't be noticed by them."

Maka slowly nodded, "So basically you're trying not to get caught at all."

"Exactly! Now you're catching on!" Abby chirped.

"Okay… But you also said that you needed someone to keep score. What is that all about?"

"Anytime someone pulls a prank, the deserving side gets a point, and obviously the side with the most points wins." Liz explained.

Which meant the guys would be choosing their own score keeper as well… It all was finally starting to make sense to Maka. Even so, if she had any questions, she'll just ask Liz or Tsubaki.

This might even be helpful towards her investigation… It'll give her an excuse to sneak out at night and to go to certain places.

"Okay, so what I was thinking is that we have a series of small, easy pranks planned out, and then on the last day, we bombard them with gigantic pranks to overwhelm them."

"By any chance did you read _Looking for Alaska_?" Curiosity got the better of Maka. Another trait she is quite proud of, but got her into quite a lot of trouble. A big part in the book was all about pranks, after all.

Abby smirked, "I like you, pigtails. You have good taste in literature. Now remember ladies, it is really important that we _crush _the boys this year..."

As time went on, the girls came up with some laid-back pranks, while coming up with elaborate pranks to make sure the boys don't have time to recover. It was very apparent to Maka that the loss last year was devastating to them and was very determined to get the revenge they deserved.

Patty whispered to her that the boys always won Prank Week, so the girls always got hyped up when the time came. Patty was very excited, telling Maka how she was going to destroy them and leave a giraffe symbol so they knew it was her, like in the movies. All of the girls were intensely discussing what pranks to do, and when to do them. It apparently didn't matter that Prank Week was in three _weeks. _It really brought everyone together.

Maka grinned on the inside, actually feeling happy. She couldn't remember the last time she acted like a true teenager, and all of this was just exhilarating to her. She knew she couldn't forget the reason why she was at this school in the first place, but she _did _need to fit in somehow. Why not participate in the annual prank war this school seemed to hold?

**XxXxX**

After the meeting with the girls and a very exciting dinner, which consisted of Soul and Black*Star teasing her and Tsubaki constantly insisting that the boys were actually really nice once she got to know them, Maka snuck back into the library, which really wouldn't help her new found nickname, 'Bookworm.'

It was close to curfew, and Maka needed to know what exactly was in the backroom. The library was immense, with different doors that she had yet to explore, and the backroom was just one of the rooms that might have some secrets that she needed to uncover.

While she pretended to study for a math test that was coming up, Maka discreetly peered at the librarian she encountered earlier. She mentally willed him to go away, not realizing that she was exerting her body to use her Persuasion. Like Soul, she could use her mind to basically make people to do whatever she wanted.

She remembered the woman who possessed this power before her. When she first started out as an agent for Marshall when she was thirteen, a woman named Julia took her on a trial mission that involved getting information on a power cult in the jungles of South America. They got into a bit of trouble that required Maka to absorb Julia's power of persuasion to talk themselves out of getting arrested. After that, Julia considered Maka her little sister and stuck with her ever since. That mission was quite eventful.

A dull throb drummed through her head, increasing each second as she concentrated on the librarian. Finally, the man slowly walked away from the front desk and to the far side of the library, looking slightly dazed. Maka sighed with great relief, gently messaging her temple.

_Well, that was more painful than I had anticipated._

Her locket, which dueled as a power limiter, really did strain her body when she needed to get things done. She understood that Marshall wanted her to blend in and not be detected by other people by how powerful she really is, but it was really hindering her investigation. No one seemed to suspect her though, so that _is _a plus.

The locket seemed to be working in overdrive, as it was slightly hot to the touch. Maka fingered it, wondering just how strong this locket was, how far she had to push before the locket finally had to give into her powers.

With the headache still pulsing through her skull, Maka carefully walked to the desk, watching for the librarian to come back. She jumped the desk and quickly walked to the backroom and scanned the place for anything out of place.

Maka was glad to know that her eyes didn't lie to her before. Off to the side was a whole row of books that was under lock and key. Upon closer look, she could see that the thick books were dusty, as if they weren't used in a long while. That explained why the librarian reacted so strangely when she asked for the book earlier. She must have been the first in a while to request it. But why?

_The Way of the Soul, The Sway of Magic, History of the Grigori… What is this?_

Perplexed and bewildered, Maka walked down the row of books taking in each and every one of their titles. She continued to scan the titles until a spot where a book _should _be caught her eye.

Looking through the cage that held the books hostage, she hastily memorized the Dewey Decimal number and ran to the front desk to search for some type of log. Quickly leafing through the stacks of papers, Maka was had to bite her lip to refrain from screaming out in frustration. Who in their right mind would decide against keeping a hard copy of who checks out what books? Was she not looking hard enough?

Drumming her fingers on the desk, she glanced at the computer. If Maka could bet money on this, it would be that the information that she needed would be in that computer.

She just _knew_ that computer would come in handy.

She jumped the desk again and quickly gathered her things. She knew she was pushing her luck staying here so late, and she had to get back to her dorm room before curfew, which was ten. And she knew the librarian would be back any minute; the amount of power she used on him was mediocre at best.

Who knew being a bookworm would be so helpful?

* * *

**The information about the Grigori soul in the first two paragraphs about this topic can be found on two websites that are listed on my profile. I just want you guys to know that these paragraphs did not come from my brain, but from sites that may or may not be true. But everything else I made up.**

**If you want to know more, the links are on my profile.**

**So... yeah. Review and tell me what you thought! :D**


	5. The Twitch of a Shadow

**Disclaimer~ I don't own Volcom or Soul Eater. Or MCR and Fall Out Boy...**

* * *

_Should I leave campus?_

Maka was lying in her bed looking at the shadowed ceiling. She really couldn't sleep, considering all of the information she absorbed in the past few hours. With the apparent prank war coming up, that missing book in the library, and her mission to overall. And she had the lingering fear that her nightmare would come back. That fear forced her to stay awake.

There was that little naive part of her brain that thought if she got some sleeping aid, something strong enough to knock her out, she'll be too tired to even have a minute part of her nightmare. But she's been down that road before. She told Marshall of her sleeping problems and he had a doctor prescribe some medication to her, but it didn't necessarily work. Needless to say, the dream kept coming and she still didn't get any sleep.

Only days of pure exhaustion did she sleep.

It would be easy enough. She could just turn invisible if she wanted to sneak out. But there was the situation with Tsugumi. What if she woke up and noticed her missing?

_Should I could text Kid about it…?_

Liz hijacked her phone, putting all of their numbers in it. She ultimately decided against texting Kid; he wouldn't be too pleased with her that she texted him at three in the morning. Besides, if she texted him about possibly leaving the campus, he would ask why and she would either have to explain about her insomnia or make up some half assed lie. And lying wasn't really an option. She could handle this herself.

She quietly groaned, not wanting to wake Tsugumi. She turned to her nightstand and snatched her phone, not to text, but to blast music. Maybe she could distract herself or something.

Getting comfortably situated, she clouded her thoughts with My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy. She just couldn't stand the silence. It was almost deafening.

Looking back, Maka probably should have snuck out of her dorm room to investigate the grounds more closely.

She probably would have, but she really, _really_ didn't want to have to explain to Tsugumi why she was gone if she were to wake up and Maka was nowhere to be seen. Was Tsugumi a light sleeper?

After a few minutes of listening to her music, she yanked out her ear buds and sat up. Glancing up at her roommate, she quietly rose from her bed and shrugged on a simple black Volcom sweatshirt over her pajamas. She figured if she couldn't sleep, she would might as well observe the school, see what secrets she could discover.

Maybe she could find some areas she could ineptly investigate later. At the S.P.I.C, or the Supernatural Power and Intelligence Corporation, she was well known for her keen perceptive and deductive skills, which came in handy at investigations like this. It was the reason she noticed the peculiarity of the backroom in the library after all.

Thinking back to sneaking out, Maka was quite positive that Tsugumi wouldn't wake up before she got back, but just to be sure, she would come back at four. This wasn't anything serious; just a little outing so that she could explore. An hour should be plenty of time.

Slipping on her boots, she really tried not to laugh at her attire. It consisted of baggy gym shorts and the sweatshirt she wearing, along with the black combat boots with white buckles. She looked utterly ridiculous.

Not that what she wore even mattered. She could turn invisible.

Maka crept toward the door, and froze when Tsugumi stirred. Wide eyed and utterly silent, Maka gazed at Tsugumi, the adrenaline pulsing through her veins and her heart pounding in her chest.

_Oh crap, don't wake up. Whatever you do, don't wake up!_

After a second that felt like an eternity, Tsugumi settled back into her bed, making Maka breathe out a silent sigh of relief. Nothing like a harmless scare to keep you on your toes.

Quietly opening the door, very thankful that it didn't squeak, she walked out into the dark hallway. Maka, having done this plenty of times before, quickly and stealthily made her way out of the dorm, making sure not to be seen by any unwanted eyes.

Once outside, she breathed in the crisp night air, looking up at the eerie crescent moon above.

_That's really beautiful._

She always loved the nighttime. It held a sort of splendor and mystery that the daytime just couldn't capture. And there seemed to be more stars, considering she was in a city that was located in the middle of the desert, away from the overall population.

Shaking her head to rid herself of these unrelated thoughts, she continued walking until she got to the main building where all of the records and offices are held. She arrived at the building, but to her dismay, it was locked.

_Typical. People just have to lock things up._

She really didn't know what she was expecting. The staff of this school were no idiots. Of course the building would be locked.

Her eyes flicked around looking for something to pick the lock. She doesn't condone breaking and entering, but sometimes you just have to do it. She conveniently finding a paper clip and an abandoned bobby pin and bent to get a better look at the lock.

A mundane paperclip and a bobby pin were not ideal to pick locks, but you learn to make do after a while of constantly running into unexpected locked doors.

She was about to pick the lock, but then realized there might be an alarm. Did this school even have an alarm? There was no reason it shouldn't… Maka ran into a situation like this before and didn't even account for the alarm, which resulted her constantly dodging security. Better to be safe than sorry.

She cursed softly, backing up to look at the two story building. Looks like she was going to have to find a different way in. She also needed to find a way to shut off the alarm so this wouldn't become a problem in the future, if there was one. Most likely there was one.

Maybe Kid could help out with that…

Lips pursed, she looked up as she wondered around the building. She finally sighed, and began to scale the side of the building. She figured there might be a door or something on the roof she could use, and those doors were almost always unsecured.

Or she could sneak into a window… but those were practically always locked. The roof was her best bet.

Reaching the final ledge, she hauled herself up and scanned the rooftop. A look of satisfactory settled on her face when she spotted a door, and even gave a little happy dance when she realized the door was unlocked.

But she was still alert. For all she knew, this could be a set up. Paranoia kept her alive after all.

She walked down the stairs to the main level with her hands in her pockets. She loved exploring; another part of her curiosity that got her into trouble. She just couldn't resist the exhilarating adventure of it. If felt great to feel like a character in one of her favorite mystery novels...

Walking the dark hallways of the building, she ears trained to the hushed whispers of people down the hall. It reeked of suspicious activity.

Creeping closer, she pulled her hood up, not want to risk them seeing her face or her hair if she had to get away. Hiding in the little nook that led to a door of an office, she listened.

"How many times do I have to tell you Eruka, keep your damn opinions to yourself? Do you know how bad that seems when you go off on subjects that you're supposed to be _teaching?_" A woman with short blond hair that was braided in the front wearing a lab coat glowered at Maka's history teacher, leading Maka to believe she was the school's nurse. Unless she was a science teacher or something.

_What?_

This caught Maka's attention. Why was Lab Coat so angry with Eruka? The only explanation Maka could come up with was that they were working together on something.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know what I was thinking! I was caught up in the moment, you know?" She flinched when the nurse's shadow twitched suddenly, causing Maka to be even more confused.

_What's up with that?_

Maka's stomach twisted, extremely weary of what Lab Coat could be truly capable of. Eruka sure seemed scared of her.

"Then make sure you think before you speak next time. As much as I hate it, I still need you. If you give yourself away, my plan will be ruined." The blond woman had a sharp look in her eye, almost daring the other teacher to make another mistake.

Eruka quivered, "Yes, Medusa."

Medusa narrowed her eyes, "I hate how you have to teach this topic anyways. It might give the students a motive to learn more."

_Too late about that._

Eruka was about to say something, but then bit her tongue. It was probably something along the lines of that she had no choice in teaching that topic. Medusa gave her a frightening look, causing the teacher to gulp and shiver involuntarily, "Sorry, I won't do it again."

That made Medusa give her a sickeningly sweet smile, "I glad you see it my way."

Brushing past Eruka, the woman swiftly walked out of sight, her lab coat swishing behind her. Her eyes tearing up, Eruka glared in the direction the nurse went.

"Snake woman." She hissed. She turned on her heals and walked in the direction Maka was hiding out.

Quickly making her physical appearance disappear, Maka followed the teacher, curious as to what the conversation was about.

_Yes, I finally have a lead._

Nonchalantly matching Eruka's footsteps, Maka followed her history teacher, curious as to where she was going. She was quite amused by the mutterings Eruka kept giving, saying what a bitch Medusa was, and that she would show her.

Maka raised a brow. The white haired woman may be saying these things now, but earlier, she looked quite fearful towards Medusa. What exactly was going on with those two?

To Maka's slight disappointment, Eruka exited the building. She was hoping the teacher might lead her somewhere, like her office or something… Maka didn't don't what she expected. What can she say, she needed sleep. She wasn't on the top of her game at the moment.

Maka slipped through the door, not wanting to lose Eruka. It wasn't very interesting following her at all; all Eruka did was mutter in anger about Medusa and how much she hated her situation. And Eruka wasn't aware of her surroundings at all. She never even considered the fact that someone might following her.

After a few tedious minutes, Maka realized Eruka was walking in the direction of the staff housing. With a slight sigh, Maka turned around and made her way back to her dorm. The events of the day before were finally getting to her and all she wanted was to collapse onto her bed, even if she got that terrible nightmare again.

**XxXxX**

_It was the same burning room as before, hot flames licking at the walls and floor. A young Maka was huddled in the only unscathed corner, desperately trying to get away from the smoke and flames._

_Her consciousness was beginning to fail her, as she was beginning to see black spots due to the lack of clean oxygen. The only thing keeping her awake was the constant banging of something, probably coming from the door on the opposite side of the room._

"_Maka!"_

_Who was that?_

"_Maka! Can you hear me?"_

_She couldn't tell who it was. The flames were too loud. And there was a constant, almost eerie giggling that was overlapping the voice._

"_Maka!"_

"Wake up, Maka!"

Maka jerked awake, startled at Tsugumi shaking her.

"Hn, what?" She wearily glanced around the room. That horrid nightmare again…

Tsugumi smiled brightly, not noticing anything is wrong, "Looks like someone's not a morning person! Come on, we got to get ready for breakfast."

Tsugumi skipped away to the bathroom, grabbing some clothes to get dressed.

Maka massaged her temples, exhausted from not getting enough sleep. She returned to the dorm at a quarter to five, taking a lot longer in her investigation than she thought. And that nightmare… She expected it, yes, but it doesn't mean she likes it.

Of course, she only gets about an hour of sleep, and within that hour, her mind is plagued with that damn nightmare.

Quickly changing into her uniform, she made sure the book she checked out yesterday was still in her bag, and placed her journal into it as well. She needed to write down everything she found out before she gave the book back.

She put her long, blond hair into pigtails completing her outfit for the day. Snapping her out of her thoughts, Tsugumi emerged from the bathroom, "Ready to go, Maka?"

Maka nodded and yawned, "Yeah." As the two left the dorm, Maka said, "I think I'm just going to go to the library instead of going to breakfast."

Tsugumi blinked, "Um, okay, but won't you be hungry? And why do you have to go to the library?"

"I have some more research I have to get done." Not a total lie. "And besides, I'm not that hungry anyways. I'll be fine!" More so of half of an untruth than a _lie. _

Who was she kidding, she was starving. But things had to get done. She could wait until lunch.

Tsugumi nodded, still a little bit unsure, "Okay, I'll see you after class!"

Parting ways, Maka gave Tsugumi a reassuring smile. Making her way to the library, Maka thought about what she discovered the night before. Who exactly was Medusa, and why did Eruka seem so afraid of her?

Maka bit her thumb, a habit she often did when she was thinking of something. There was definitely something strange about her. Hell, Eruka even called her _snake woman._ Weren't people who were referenced as snakes deceitful? And what was up with her shadow… She could've sworn she saw it move.

Walking into the library and finding a secluded place to sit, Maka pulled out her journal and The History of the Soul. She recorded the key facts that she found out, plus some of the information about the backroom and the missing book.

Leaning back in her chair, Maka tapped her pencil on the desk. What if this meant nothing at all? What if Maka was so caught up in the excitement of being a sleuth that she was turning nothing into something? She would have to talk to Kid later, and see what he thought.

She had to remember that she wasn't alone on this.

As if on cue, Kid came strolling into the library, apple barely concealed in his hand. It was obvious that he wanted to hide it; food wasn't allowed in the library after all.

"Everyone missed you at breakfast." He stated, handed her the apple.

Maka looked at him, taking the apple, "How did you know that I would be here?"

"I asked your roommate. Tsugumi, right?"

Maka nodded, "I'm glad you're here, though. I have some things I have to talk to you about." Kid nodded for her to go on, "Well, I went out last night to explore the campus and I got into the main building, which was, by the way, inconveniently locked. At first, nothing strange really popped out at me, but then I saw my history teacher, Ms. Eruka, talking with another woman."

Kid knitted his eyebrows, "Do you know who the other woman was?"

Maka nodded, "Eruka said Medusa. Is she the nurse or something? She was wearing a sort of lab coat, so I sort of assumed..."

Kid sat down, troubled, "Yes, she is. What were they talking about? There should be no reason for the two to talk to each other."

Maka shrugged, "Medusa just seemed really pissed that Eruka gave a strong opinion about Grigori souls. That was why I'm here, to research it more. Eruka really didn't give us much to give on."

"Grigori souls? My father talked about them a little. They're so rare, people are beginning to think that they're a myth."

Maka was puzzled, "Aren't they, though?"

Kid shook his head, "My father said he met a person that possessed one. She apparently was very courageous and cared deeply for those she loved."

Maka nodded slowly, her doubts about the existence of the souls erased. "What about Medusa though? Eruka seemed almost afraid of her. She even called her snake woman."

Kid shook his head, "I really don't know what to make up of that. Medusa's been at this school since before I was a freshman here. Though she is well trusted, she's has this… air about her that makes her unapproachable, hence the name 'Snake Woman'. Everyone here calls her that. And this _is_ Eruka's first year teaching too…"

"How trusted is Medusa?"

Kid gave her a crooked smile, "Not enough to be told about you."

Maka sighed in relief. She didn't trust Medusa _at all_, "And who can be trusted?"

Kid looked thoughtful, "I know my father told Dr. Stein. And I wouldn't be surprised if Sid knew. He's in charge of all of the special ops missions, but nobody knows that but you and me. That's supposed to be secret information."

Maka looked alarmed, "Woah, hold on. The creepy guy with the screw in his head knows? Was _that _the reason why he was staring at me so intently yesterday?"

Kid laughed, "Yes, and he _does_ has Soul Perception. He was probably looking into your soul."

Maka shivered, "I feel violated somehow." Glancing at the librarian, she lowered her voice, "Putting all of that aside, what was strange though was that when I asked the librarian to find the book on Grigori souls for me, he almost looked scared. And when he left, I went to the backroom to look around a little, and I saw a whole bunch of books that are under lock and key."

Kid looked shocked, "_What? _Shibusen has a freaking _restricted section?_"

"Yeah, apparently so." Maka looked grim, "And there was one missing."

* * *

**Bringing a little Harry Potter into this. Anyone know that reference? **_**Anyone?**_

**But yeah, this chapter is long overdue. **

**I've been so tired lately, I've kinda been bringing the insomnia thing into Maka's life on my own account... Except I don't have any terrifying nightmares... I need to inflict my struggles onto the dear characters of Soul Eater. Tee hee.**

**So yeah. Review and tell me your thoughts!**


	6. More Mysteries to Uncover

**Holy crap, I've been gone forever. I'm so sorry!**

**In my defense, I went through the very painful process of moving. So that meant no laptop. :(**

**But I'm here now!**

**Please enjoy~**

* * *

After Kid got over the initial shock about the news about the book, he asked, "Are you sure it wasn't the book you have now? The librarian had to go back and get it for you. Maybe that was it."

Maka shook her head, "No, because if the books can be read by students, why are they under lock and key? It makes no sense that the books would be locked up like that if people could read them. There were other shelves of books to the side anyways."

Kid closed his eyes, "Well this changes things. Why would Father have things under lock and key?"

"He probably wanted to keep it out of other people's hands." Maka said, "There were titles like _The Sway of Magic. _Do you have any idea what that could mean? It's like they're implying that magic is real."

Kid shook his head, "I remember my father saying that people thought that our powers were the creation of witches and black magic, and that was one of the reasons people were so prejudiced against us in the past. They were very superstitious back then."

"Yeah… But we really need to check it out. With Medusa talking with Eruka last night about her infraction about the Grigori souls, I think we'll find something in there."

He nodded, "You're right. We'll go tonight." Kid rose from his seat, "We need to get going, the bell's going to ring any minute."

"Yeah," Maka got up to follow him, gathering her stuff.

And sure enough, the first bell rang as the two walked out of the library, making their way to Ms. Azusa's dreaded math class.

**XxXxX**

The way the classroom was set up was that there were two tables with four chairs in a row, making six rows of tables. Fortunately for Maka, there was a free seat where Soul, Tsubaki, and Kid sat, which happened to be in the back corner of the room. At least she didn't have to sit with people she didn't know.

With bare white walls and a single bookshelf that contained extra calculus textbooks, it made everyone in the room that had the misfortune of having math first period have the urge to fall asleep.

Walking to the table with Kid behind her, Maka thought she noticed Soul glare at the table, slightly agitated. But the look was gone as quick as it had come when he leaned back, smirking at her. Maka briefly glanced over to Tsubaki, who in turn smiled at her.

Somehow, Maka got the end seat next to Soul, with Kid on the opposite side of him and Tsubaki on the other end. Maka sort of wished she could have sat next to Tsubaki; Soul got fidgety after a while and tended to bother her. Why he would annoy her and not Kid was beyond her.

Maka sat down and got out her planner to write down the homework as soon as the late bell rang, causing Soul to smirk even more, "It's not normal for you to be this late, Bookworm."

Maka rolled her green eyes and pouted angrily. "And how would you know what's normal for me? We just met yesterday."

"You nearly bit my head off for us being almost late to history yesterday. That was a pretty big clue." He chuckled, his crimson eyes sparkling with amusement.

Azusa cut their conversation short, starting to review for a test that they were apparently supposed to have on Friday. Maka's shoulders sagged a little. As much as she loved to learn, she already knew all of this. Her tutor made her learn this material a couple months before she even received this mission, so having to review it _again _was monotonous and tedious.

Watching Azusa write practice problems on the board, Maka stared at the back of the teacher's head with dead eyes. She really couldn't wait until this unit was over. Something new to learn made Maka tingle with excitement.

But for the time being, she took to doodling on the paper she was supposed to be taking notes on.

In the middle of drawing a _very_ ornate stick figure with a sword, the paper slid out from under her pencil, making her mess up.

She looked up and glared at Soul, who was writing something she couldn't see. After a few seconds, he gave the paper back.

_You bored too?_

Reading this, Maka smiled slightly, sort of surprised by how neat his hand writing is. She wrote back.

_That obvious? _

Sliding the paper back to Soul, Maka glanced back at Azusa. She called on a gamma named Hiro who clearly had no clue what was going on.

_Duh. Nice stick figure by the way. Very elaborate._

She rolled her eyes at that. She couldn't draw to save her life.

_Whatever. Shouldn't you be paying attention?_

Soul gave a silent snort, causing her to glare at him.

_Shouldn't you? And why weren't you at breakfast? Most important meal of the day, you know._

He had a point there. She glanced up again to make sure Azusa wasn't watching them. Seeing that she was writing another problem on the board, she wrote back to him.

_Had some research I had to get done at the library. I'll be fine until lunch._

It was Soul's turn to roll his eyes.

_Yeah, whatever. Man, you're such a bookworm. Name suits you._

She pursed her lips in agitation again. There was the nickname again. She supposed it wasn't a _bad _thing. She liked reading, thank you very much. But the way everyone said it as a bad thing irked her.

_Quit calling me that, Sharky._

She stifled a giggle at the look on his face. His at first baffled face slowly turned into a glower, clearly not amused at his newly dubbed nickname.

_What exactly is that supposed to mean, Bookworm? Trying to tell me something?_

She swore he was only calling her that to rile her up now.

_Your teeth aren't exactly conspicuous. You might as well be an albino shark._

Quickly scribbling a shrugging stick figure, she inconspicuously slid the paper to him. Maka really hoped she didn't look as confused as she felt because instead of the glare she was expecting, he smiled in amusement. Smirking, he wrote something down, but then hesitated, the smirk falling off of his face. He then wrote something else and slid the paper back to her.

_Maybe I have albino shark parents. You never know. I could be a genetic miracle._

_How come you didn't freak out when you first saw me? _

She grinned at the first line, and then frowned at the second, taken aback at what he written.

_I don't know. I thought you looked kinda cool. Different._

With an innocent look adorning her face, she slid the paper back.

Soul's eyes slightly widened at her words. No one, especially girls, thought he looked cool with his demon eyes and stark white hair. Most would cringe at first glance, but when they got a look at his teeth, it all went downhill from there, calling him monster and such. Even Liz and Tsubaki flinched when they first met him. Patty, Black*Star, and Kid were an exception because with Black*Star and Patty's childish attitude, they couldn't care less, and Kid had his own issues with his hair, so he had no room to make fun of him.

The only reason girls liked him now was because he was an alpha and was friends with the son of the principal. Sure, he was attractive, with his unruly and thick hair and sharp features, but with the whiteness of the hair and his demonic eyes and teeth, it was a lot to get past.

The fact that Maka thought he looked cool and was actually _sincere _about it really shocked him.

Saving him from having to write anything back, Azusa snapped, "Soul!"

Snapping his head up, he said, "Uh, yeah?"

She looked at him expectantly, "The answer?"

Ignoring Kid's snickers, he stared at the problem on the bored and quickly solved it on Maka's paper with ease, "Three point eight repeating."

Azusa nodded slowly, "That's correct. But I don't want you zoning out again, understand?"

He nodded, bored, "Yeah, I got it."

Satisfied with her answer, Azusa turned her back on the class, writing another problem on the board. Maka mouthed that she was sorry to him, but he just waved it off, signaling that it was no big deal. He slid the paper back to her, and she hid the paper in her folder, not wanting to be caught passing notes in class.

The bell thankfully rang, saving Maka from an awkward silence, or more like an awkward blank page, with Soul. It somewhat infuriated her because he didn't even look bothered by getting singled out by the teacher. If it was her, she would have been embarrassed to the highest degree.

Leaving the classroom, the boys bid farewell to the girls as they went their separate ways.

Walking beside her, Tsubaki grinned, "I noticed you two were passing notes in class."

Maka closed her eyes, thinking. "Yeah, Soul saw me doodling on my paper and decided to write something on it. It sort of turned into a whole conversation."

"It must have been funny, considering you were smiling constantly."

"Yeah, I guess it was. I feel bad about getting him in trouble though…" She trailed off, still feeling guilty.

Tsubaki shook her head, smiling at the younger girl, "Don't feel bad, he gets in trouble all the time, even more so with Black*Star!"

Maka laughed, "I guess so."

Tsubaki sighed, "I wish I could just zone out in class. But I don't understand anything she's trying to teach, and I really need to learn this stuff."

Looking at her, Maka said, "I could help you later, after school. It wouldn't be a problem, since I have free period last anyways."

Tsubaki brightened up, "Really? That would be great!"

Maka smiled at her, really glad to help with something normal for a change.

**XxXxX**

The rest of the day was a drag; the only thing really happening was Soul constantly teasing her.

Nothing weird happened with Eruka, who still seemed to be shaken up about the night before, because she just assigned them some partner work and solemnly went to her desk.

Soul felt the need to be partners with the new girl, so he infuriatingly turned his desk and smiled expectantly at her, the incident from math apparently forgotten. She rolled her eyes and turned her desk as well, considering that he was still the only person that she knew in the class.

During the time, Maka had some more arguments with Soul, which consisted of him being a lazy slacker and her constantly yelling at him to do his damn work. Soul really knew how to rile her up, and he enjoyed it. He enjoyed it very much.

After her free period, which she used to finish her homework, she met up with Tsubaki and helped her, which was not at all that difficult. Thankfully that ate up most of her time until dinner, which was a hilarity all on its own. Black*Star and Soul just loved to banter…

Throughout the meal, Kid and Maka were secretly texting, agreeing on the time they would meet up and where. They made sure the texts were deleted soon after, as to not arouse suspicion if anyone saw it.

Now, for it being the dead of night and everyone was presumably asleep, Maka dressed in her black skinny jeans and black sweatshirt, rolling the sleeves up. She quickly laced her boots up and slinked out the door, making sure her flash drive was with her and that Tsugumi was sound asleep.

Turning invisible to be on the safe side of not being discovered by any staff members, Maka briskly walked to the front of the library, trying to find Kid. They both decided that this would be the best way to go because of what Maka found.

Spotting Kid, she unmasked herself, "Hey."

Kid nodded to her nonchalantly, "Hey."

They stood there awkwardly for a moment, not sure what to do. Finally, Maka walked to the door of the library and gave the door a slight tug, "Hmm, I don't suppose you have the keys."

He jingled said item in front of her face, "Father gave me a skeleton key for emergencies."

Maka grinned, "Nice."

Kid unlocked the door and let Maka in, following behind her. They jogged to the front desk, and tried to open the door to the backroom with futile attempt. Giving a slight exasperated sigh, Kid unlocked that door too.

Once inside, Maka took a look around, "I didn't take too much time looking around, so we might find something else."

Marveling at the locked books, Kid asked, "Yeah, and how did you manage to get in here anyways?"

A little bit flustered, Maka answered, "Uh, I sort of persuaded the librarian to leave for a little bit?"

Kid glanced up at her, shocked, "Meaning that you used Persuasion? I thought your power limiter was supposed to prevent you from using other powers."

Maka shrugged, "At first I did it subconsciously, but then I realized what I was doing and I went with it. It gave me a massive headache, though, and it made me super tired. I guess even the limiter has limits."

"Well, it definitely proved to be useful." Kid palmed the lock in his hands, "I wonder why it's so important for these books to be locked up like this."

Maka shrugged, "Beat's me." Looking deflated about the fact that they didn't find anything, Maka said, "I'm going to see what's in the computer. Can you look through the papers again, or look for a log or something? We need to know who took that book."

"And what the book _is_." Kid added.

Maka nodded and booted up the computer, groaning that it asked for a password.

Kid looked at her, leafing through the papers, "You okay over there?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. My life would be so much easier if people didn't set passwords though." Maka responded, typing.

"You think you can get through?"

Maka nodded, "Yeah, it's almost always 'password,' those idiots. And if it's not, I know a code that can get me in, though it'll take me longer." Hitting the enter key, Maka grinned, "Ha, yes!"

Looks like she wouldn't be hacking the computer just yet.

Navigating the files, she searched for the record log. Maka pursed her lips, scrolling through the files and documents. Pausing for a second, she mumbled to herself, "I wonder if Medusa…?"

"What about Medusa?" Kid asked, sifting through a drawer.

"I'm almost sure Medusa is planning something. It was by pure chance that I would know about her conversation with Eruka, so I don't think that she suspects anything. I just wonder if I can find anything good on her."

"Yeah, that would be a smart thing to do." He stopped and looked at her, "I wouldn't be surprised if you were gifted in hacking, with all that you've found out already."

She snorted, "You have no idea how many missions I've went on that required me to hack into enemy computers. I could find out anything about anyone in this school if I wanted to. I do consider myself tech savvy." She typed a few things into the computer and pulled several documents, "Oh hey, I found Medusa's notes!"

Kid was baffled, "How the hell did you do manage that?"

She waved him off, "Don't question my skills. I just typed a few key words in the HTML coding that would hopefully direct me here. And it worked!"

Kid looked impressed, if slightly weary of her advanced computer skills, "Your uncanny skills in computers are definitely coming in handy."

Maka nodded in agreement, "Yes, yes they are." Copying the documents onto her flash drive, she located the book title that matched the Dewey Decimal number of the missing book, Maka told Kid, "I found the title of the book. _The Tools of Eibon_? What the hell…?"

"My thoughts exactly." He said, raising a brow, pulling a leather bound book whose title read _Records_, "But we'll find out who checked it out though."

Maka immediately abandoned her post at the computer and rushed over to Kid to look at the log. They flipped to the most recent page and scanned it for the book title, both of them half expecting the book to not be listed. With all of the secrecy they have been experiencing, they wouldn't be surprised.

To Maka's relief, she found the book listed as checked out. But the person who checked out the book's name wasn't so much as a name, but a letter.

"_M_?" Maka, who was exhausted and extremely irritated, just stared at the page, rather angry that she had to solve yet another mystery. Kid looked at the letter in bewilderment as well, before finally making a connection as to what the letter meant.

"Dammit!" He kicked the desk in a vehement fury.

Alarmed, Maka asked, "What is it, Kid?"

"Medusa checked out the book."

* * *

**The whole coding thing is most likely wrong, but it sounded smart, so I went with it. Meh.**

**I have the next chapter mostly written, so it should be out in the next couple of days. I won't make you wait to long, I promise!**

**So, please review and tell me what you thought!**


	7. An Unwanted Revelation

**Please tell me I'm not the only one who had a mental break down over chapter 113. I think I actually started to hyperventilate. **

**So yeah. This chapter's going to have lots of funny, so prepare yourself. XD**

* * *

Three weeks have passed and the struggles and excitement of Prank Week have already begun.

The two sides were vicious when it came to pranking. They even went as far as to sit on the opposite sides of the cafeteria. Maka, usually sitting with Soul and the rest of the gang, now sat with Tsubaki, Liz, Patty, Tsugumi, and her two friends Meme and Anya.

Tsugumi apparently always sat with Meme, Anya, and two boys named Akane and Clay, but with the festivities of Prank Week going on, they had to sit with their designated genders.

On the first day, the boys wasted no time and took a huge risk in going to the girl's restroom to put the paper of most terrifying face imaginable on the inside of the stall doors. Occasionally you could hear the screams echoing through the halls of Shibusen until finally someone had enough and took the posters down.

But the girls retaliated by throwing stink bomb-like devices into the boy's locker room, which resulted a few loud yelps and a repugnant stench coming from the boys once they emerged for gym. It was a lose-lose situation on both their parts, but the girls had one hell of a laugh.

While the teachers knew about the alleged Prank Week (the students weren't exactly inconspicuous) they pretended to not know, because this whole ordeal was very amusing. It was an unwritten agreement between staff and student that as long as nothing illegal happened and nobody was injured, Prank Week could go on.

The second day was less eventful, with the boys covering the toilet bowls with cellophane wrap. To the boys' slight disappointment, the girls immediately noticed it and avoided a messy disaster and loss of points. The girls didn't try anything that day, and decided to let paranoia eat away at their brains.

Now Wednesday, Maka and Tsubaki walked to the library to deliver some textbooks for their English teacher, Ms. Marie. They walked the halls with less apprehension then they would at any other time, considering it was class time.

The two walked in a comfortable silence and rounded the corner, approaching the library that Maka and Kid investigated weeks ago. Maka sighed slightly. She wished that she could've researched the notes she found in Medusa's files more thoroughly, but her teachers decided that those following weeks would have been a great time to load the students up with homework, projects, and tests. It was exhausting.

This week has been pretty mild though, so she was pretty sure that the weekend would be great to look at it more closely.

_No need to think about that now._

Tsubaki and Maka walked into the library and approached the desk. Maka greeted the librarian with a smile, "Hi, we were told this needed to be switched out for another?" The librarian nodded and went to retrieve a new textbook.

An awkward smile and thank you later, Maka took the new textbook and she and Tsubaki walked towards the exit, thankful that was over.

"That was painful." Maka glanced over her shoulder at the librarian, who was putting away the textbooks.

"Those situations are always awkward, but it's over and done with, so it's okay!" Tsubaki smiled slightly.

Maka smiled back, "Yeah, your right." They exited the library, and while they were walking back to the classroom, Maka heard quickly paced and particularly loud footsteps coming towards her and her companion.

Tsubaki must have heard it too because she gave Maka a questioning look. Maka gave a small shrug, confused about the strange footsteps as well.

They rounded a corner and the two girls were still a little disconcerted that the mystery person was still following them. Finally Maka let her curiosity get the best of her, so she turned around to see who it was, only to be totally and utterly soaked to the skin by ice cold water.

Her mouth gapped like a fish, shocked at the sudden turn of events and that she was just drenched by _ice cold water._

And the perpetrator was none other than Soul Evans.

"_What the hell!?_" Maka screeched, looking at her wet clothes.

Soul pointed and clutched his stomach while laughing, dropping the bucket he was holding, "Bet you didn't expect that, did you?"

Her teeth bared in a dangerous snarl, she ruthlessly slammed the textbook she was holding into his cranium.

His guffawing ceased, the pain rippling through his skull, "Hey, no maiming! It's part of the rules!" He clutched his head, and glanced at Maka's face which was filled with complete fury. He started laughing hysterically again. Not even a hit to the head from a furious Maka Albarn could ruin this perfect moment.

"Oh, I'm going to do more than just maim you-!" She lunged at him, only to be held back by a shocked Tsubaki.

"Maka, please calm down. It's just a prank!" She held her arm firmly, not quite trusting that Maka won't lunge at the snow haired boy again, "How did you know we would be out here, Soul?"

He smirked deeply, his eyes never leaving Maka's, "I might have had some inside intel."

Maka was too furious to notice Soul's eyes compellingly flick over Maka's sopping form. The blazer clung to Maka's body, showing off her subtle curves a lot more than it normally did. Her skirt thankfully wasn't affected by the water, but loose droplets _did_ trickle down her legs, making his mouth feel like the desert surrounding the city.

But just because Maka didn't notice didn't mean that the perceptive Tsubaki didn't.

The raven haired teen gave him a curious look. She didn't even need to use her power to know that Soul definitely felt some attraction to the short blond. And her face told him that he did a terrible job of hiding said attraction.

The only thing saving him right now was that Maka was too angry or dense to notice anything at all.

He really needed to get out of here.

"Seeing that look on your face was totally worth the hit to the head." He turned on his heels and began to walk the opposite direction, his chuckles still echoing the halls, "I'll see you guys around."

Maka's green eyes still lit with rage, she spat at him, still struggling against Tsubaki, "You are _so_ dead, Soul! This isn't over!"

Infuriating Maka, Soul looked over his shoulder and gave her one of his infamous smirks, "Wouldn't want it to be, Bookworm."

Maka growled, turning away from the retreating boy, "Jerk."

Tsubaki released Maka's arm, deciding that Maka probably wouldn't attack Soul. Not at this point anyways. "Um, I think Liz has some extra clothes in her locker…"

Maka nodded slowly, shivering slightly. The wet clothes and hair sticking to her body made the already cold hall way seem like the arctic.

"I hope she has a sweatshirt or something…"

The two began to walk the halls again, but Maka's thoughts were much different than when she was walking to the library. Soul Evans messed with the wrong girl, and he was going to pay.

Clutching the textbook closer to her chest, Maka glowered to her feet. It was his _entire_ fault that she was freezing. She didn't do anything to him… Any prank that they played on the boys so far was a group effort, and even then she didn't do anything that major.

Abby, the unofficial leader of Prank Week, said that she had bigger plans for her, and didn't want her in the line of fire so soon in the game. Maka had no problem with it.

But why the hell did Soul go out of his way to drench her with freezing water? What did she ever do to him?

Minus the Maka Chops, of course… He totally deserved them.

"You go ahead to the restroom," Tsubaki told her, "I'll get you a shirt and a jacket to wear." She smiled at Maka, turning to a locker that Maka didn't notice they approached.

Maka shivered, "Yeah, okay."

She sighed to herself halfheartedly, turning on her heal towards the restroom. She tugged at the hair ties restraining her pigtails and pulled them lose. Her hair was a lost cause anyways.

She wouldn't have to deal with this if Soul didn't blindside her with ice cold water.

She tightened her grip on the textbook and glared, a new rage bubbling up inside her core. She wouldn't be _this_ angry if it was after school, or in a place where it was _practical_ for pranking. During classes was considered neutral territory, or at Maka thought it was. _Apparently_ she was wrong.

She may be overreacting, but it was now personal. Maka was going to extract a certain revenge where Soul would wish he never messed with her in the first place.

_He is so going down._

**XxXxX**

Throughout the day, Maka had to endure the laughing eyes of the boys and Liz's very evident fury that _no one messed with one of her own._

The girls met up outside of Patty's locker for lunch and once Maka explained why she was wearing Liz's way to big Disney sweatshirt and why her hair was wet, Liz exploded. The unspoken rule on no pranks during class was broken and Soul was going to die for breaking said rule.

The more strategic side of Liz contained the wrath that wanted to make itself known when she saw Soul and Kid's smirks and Black*Star's very loud and very obnoxious guffaws. With gritted teeth, Liz said that if she snapped the boys out of the mentality that no one could stop them in the game, it would ruin their plans for that night.

That and Tsubaki warned her that injuring said boys would disqualify them from winning Prank Week.

"Maka, I really hope you're sure about this." Abby looked at the younger girl with unsure eyes, "This was really sudden. It might backfire."

Liz slung her arm around Maka's shoulder, cutting in, "This is the best plan we had yet, Abby. We don't even have anything planned for Friday yet. We'll be in and out."

"Yeah, it's going to rock!" Patty fist pumped the air, "You better tape this Maka!"

Maka grinned, holding up a temporary Android she received from her adoptive father, "Oh, don't worry. I will."

Tsubaki placed her hand on Maka's shoulder, "Just be careful, okay?"

"Don't worry, we'll be careful!" Maka smiled at her.

Liz snorted, "Yeah, we'd be stupid to be caught by _them_."

Suddenly, a tall and lanky brunette ran up to them in a hurry, "Hey, you guys ready? We got to get going if we're going to make it back in time for curfew."

Abby nodded, giving them an encouraging smile, "Yeah, and I can't cover for you guys if you're not here when they check the beds after lights out."

Liz checked her phone, "Nah, we have a good twenty minutes til ten." She turned to the brunette, "Ali, you have the stuff?"

She held up a small cardboard box and smirked, "Yep."

"Uh," Maka looked at them both in confusion, "What's in the cardboard box?"

Liz smirked, "It's a surprise. You and Ali will do your thing and I'll do my thing."

Maka not only was confused, but was curious as well, "Uh okay…"

"Listen, we got to go." Ali tapped her wrist, showing them that they didn't have much time left.

"Ooh, yes," Liz grabbed a plastic mob bucket filled with three bottles of water and some purple dye and shoved them at Maka, "Hold this. Have you ever teleported before?"

Truthfully Maka replied "Ah, no, but-!"

"Then this is going to be such an experience for you. Close your eyes and hold your breath." She grabbed hold of both Ali and Maka's arms and teleported, not giving Maka any time to prepare.

She wasn't lying when she said that she never teleported before. Marshall didn't want Maka anywhere near anyone who could teleport, in case Maka absorbed the power for her own. Something about not trusting her blossoming teenage rebellious ways or some sort of thing like that.

And Liz was definitely right when she said that this would be an… experience for Maka. For a split second, all sight was expelled from Maka's eyes and the breath was sucked out of her like a vacuum. When the girls finally landed in a hallway in the boys' dorms, Ali and Liz had to steady Maka for she was about to fall over due to extreme dizziness.

"I told you to hold your breath." Liz looked down at her apologetically.

"You didn't give me any time _to_ hold my breath." Maka wheezed, "So where's Soul's room?"

"Down the hall, room one seventy-eight." Liz pointed past Maka's shoulder, "We'll meet here in five or ten minutes, depending on if someone _does_ get caught."

Ali looked in the direction Liz was pointing. "Uh, and how would you know where his room is?"

She shrugged, "One time, Black*Star was banned from leaving the campus because of… certain reasons and we all just decided to hang out in their dorm room."

Ali nodded slowly, not really wanting to know the details, "Alright, whatever. We'll meet back here in ten."

Liz nodded and took the box from Ali, jogging in the opposite direction. Ali and Maka went in the direction Liz pointed in, careful not to make any sound. Lucky for them, everyone was already in their rooms, so Maka didn't have to go invisible just yet.

They reached the door that stated in big, black numbers, one seventy-eight. Maka nodding to Ali, she unscrewed the caps of the water bottles and purple hair dye and filled the bucket.

The plan was to fill the bucket with the water and hair dye and knock on the door, enough so that Soul would hear it and come investigate. Of course there was no guarantee that it would be _Soul _that would check, but Maka brought the third bottle just in case. Soul was going to get drenched no matter what.

Then Ali, with her power of levitation, would levitate the bucket above Soul and then would drench him with the dyed water, all while Maka recorded.

Ali mouthed to her, "Ready?"

Maka nodded and knocked on the door three times. They heard rustling from the other side of the door and Maka quickly turned them both invisible, while Ali lifted the bucket into the air. Maka fumbled with her phone before setting it on video.

The two girls backed away from the door as it opened. "Hello?" Soul stepped out of the room with a towel hanging around his bare neck and chest, looking around. "What the hell, this is so not cool-!"

In one fluid motion, the bucket dumped all of its contents onto the white haired boy, causing the thick, purple water to drench his hair and body.

"What the _holy fuck?_" Soul looked down at his body shocked.

"Dude, what the hell's your problem… Oh wow." Black*Star stared at his friend, equally shocked. Other boys poked their heads out from their rooms to see what all of the commotion was about.

Needless to say, they were all very surprised.

Ali snickered, tugging at Maka's arm because they really needed to get going. It wasn't a good idea to stay and possibly be caught by the boys. But Maka held back, wanting to make sure that Soul knew exactly who did this to him.

She threw a folded sticky note at Soul's feet, watching it turn from it seemingly not being there at all to a tangible object that Soul will pick up.

_Bet you didn't expect that, did you? And don't worry, the dye should wash out eventually. ~M_

Ali was really tugging on her arm now. They were seriously pushing it with them standing so blatantly in enemy territory.

Maka finally turned off her phone and dashed away from the scene with Ali when she saw Soul's face quickly turn from shock to rage and Black*Star bellow to find them and that they were _still in the dorm_.

It was mass chaos. All of the boys were exiting their rooms, running left and right. They were scrambling to find the girls that had infiltrated their domain and pissed off one of the upperclassmen. Everyone was talking all at once, trying to find out who the girls, where they were, how many, what happened, what they would do if they caught them… It was quite terrifying.

Maka suddenly pulled Ali against the wall, deciding that it was way too dangerous to dodge the boys like this. It was a good decision too, because they saw Kid rushing off to the other end where Soul and Black*Star were. They would have ran into him if they didn't flatten themselves against the wall.

"What's going on? Why is everyone-?" Kid's golden eyes widened, definitely not expecting to see the majority of Soul's face, hair, and parts of his chest purple.

Soul laughed bitterly, massaging his temples, "Maka just pranked me pretty badly, man. Got to say, wasn't expecting it."

Kid still looked shocked, "But how…?"

Black*Star looked like he was trying not to laugh at his friend, "Probably sneaked in with Ali. Being invisible has its perks, you know."

"Wait a minute," Soul looked at Kid, realization crossing his face, "You can sense where they are."

Kid shrugged nonchalantly and looked over his shoulder, "Oh yeah. There over there."

Everything went silent except for the distant scuffling on the other floors. Maka could hear her heart pounding in her chest. She didn't dare to move or even breathe, and she was pretty sure Ali felt the same way.

Kid, followed by an eager Black*Star and a smirking Soul, leisurely walked down the hallway towards them. All of the other boys leaned their backs on the walls, impatient to see what was going to happen.

Maka's mind raced for a solution to get out of this situation. She's been through this before, it's not like she can't handle it. It's not like it's a life or death situation.

Ali nudged her and Maka immediately knew what she wanted. They began to inch slowly against the wall, careful to avoid any unwanted attention. They just needed to make it to the end of the hall. They just needed to-!

"Hey, there's Liz!"

A random cry sliced through the silence, and suddenly it was mass chaos again. Maka and Ali took this distraction as a chance to race towards the scuffling. Wherever the boys would be, Liz would be.

They _desperately _needed to retreat to their dorm.

"Maka, Ali, I really need you to come find me right now!" Liz's voice echoed through the hallways, "The cat's out the bag anyways! _Where are you?_"

As the two girls raced towards Liz's voice, there was a repeat of 'I see her!' and 'Get her!' Maka accidently bumped into inattentive blond, who looked over at the boy who happened to be next to him in anger, "What the hell, man?"

The other boy looked at him in confusion, "What? I didn't do anything!"

The blond shoved him, "Idiot, yes you did!"

"No, I didn't, you asshole!" The two boys started fighting each other, causing other boys to look over and making it _a lot_ easier for Maka and Ali to make their way to Liz.

"Damn it all, _Maka Albarn and Ali Williams, where are you_?" Liz screeched, suddenly appearing at the end of the hall way, running away from boys that were armed with cans of shaving cream.

Maka released Ali's arm, becoming visible again, "Right here, Liz!" She turned to the two boys who were fighting but were now staring at her in bewilderment, "Sorry, it was me who bumped into you. No hard feelings, right?"

Liz rushed to them, visibly relieved. She looked at Kid, Soul, and Black*Star, who were gapping at her, "I expect a huge number of points out of this. Maka, remember to hold your breath."

She looked at her with dread, "Wait, hold on-!"

And suddenly, Maka couldn't breathe and the ground below her didn't seem steady like the ground should be.

Liz gently pushed Maka onto the couch of the dorm living room, ignoring the mixture of shock, f and giddiness staring at them.

Tsubaki rushed toward them, worry etched into her face, "Oh thank goodness. Are you guys alright?"

Liz sighed, "Yeah, not one speck of shaving cream on us."

Maka panted, still not used to actually having oxygen readily available, "And I got it all recorded." She turned to Liz, "What exactly did _you_ do?"

Liz shrugged, "I may or may not have replaced Kid's deodorant with expired cream cheese. Whatever happened to Soul helped me out _a lot_."

Ali just stared at her, "Oh that is just plain disgusting. Expired cream cheese?"

Abby looked at the three girls, ignoring Ali's look of aversion, "Well you guys look exhausted."

"And that is because you are right." Ali mumbled. "I'm going to bed."

"Yeah, me too. All of that running was _exhausting._" Liz followed in suit and trudged to her room, Patty relentlessly asking questions behind her.

"I'm guessing the plan worked?"

Maka whistled lowly, "Yeah, we got the desired result. And I'm not going to deny that it was a lot of fun."

Abby smiled, "If you think _that_ was fun, then you're going to really enjoy Friday."

"What happens on Friday?"

Abby waved at her dismissively, "I'll explain everything tomorrow. Now go get some rest."

Maka smiled and nodded, too drained of the nights events too really care of what was in store for Friday. All she wanted to do was collapse into bed.

* * *

**A little flirting from Soul here, a little payback from Maka there... I think I am content.**

**But I'm not too sure on how to go about the next chapter, so if any of you have any ideas, that would be great. But if not, I'll think of something, it's no biggie. **

**Please review and tell me your thoughts! I love it when you do!**


	8. Self-Defense

**Okay, I have a valid excuse for not updating for so long. I started my freshman year of high school a couple of weeks ago, and it's been pretty hard. But I'll try to update more! I'm not abandoning this story.**

* * *

"Shut up Black*Star."

"No, I'm just saying, you better watch your back. Soul was pretty pissed last night."

"He actually seemed quite impressed to me." Maka muttered, writing something in her Spanish journal.

Black*Star snorted, "Please, what you did was an amateur move. Of course, it's to be expected from a kid like you, no matter how smart you are."

Maka gritted her teeth and kept on working on her assignment. Black*Star annoyed her like this since the beginning of class. He kept on boasting that they had an intense prank planned for later that night, and Maka was going to regret sneaking into the boys' dorm the night before.

Maka had called him an idiot, because who in their right mind would give away their plan?

"Besides," Black*Star continued, "S'not like the girls can beat us anyway. We've won Prank Week since I was a freshman. Definitely no surprise there."

Maka's eye twitched.

_Oh my God, shut up._

"I will admit though, the prank did take Soul by surprise, but I totally saw it coming. Did you do stuff like this at your old school?"

Maka looked up at Black*Star, who was turned around in his desk to face her, "Uh, no. But April Fools is a pretty major holiday at my house."

It wasn't a lie. All of the staff at the SPC liked to pull pranks on each other, and Maka's more childish side took over.

Black*Star nodded slightly, "Huh, that's cool. You should have us over and meet your parents sometime. It'd be sweet to hang out."

Maka's stomach clenched and she cased her eyes downward, "Yeah, that'd be nice."

As much as she loved Marshall, she wished she knew her mother and her father.

Before Black*Star could question Maka any further, their teacher shouted, "Black*Star, deja de hablar de Maka y hacer su tarea!"

Black*Star turned around, "Me no understando teachero."

Exasperated, the teacher sighed, "Stop talking to Maka and do your work!"

Black*Star was about to retort something when the bell rang, causing him to leap up and rush out the door.

The teacher sighed, looking in his direction, "Remember, study your vocabulary and do pages fifty through fifty-four in your cuaderno. It's due Monday and I expect it to be done."

Maka gathered her stuff and walked out the door, following in the direction Black*Star took. They did have gym together, after all.

What Black*Star said about meeting her parents really shook her. She really liked all of her new friends, and she didn't want to lose them. To be perfectly honest, she hasn't thought of what she was going to do after this mission was over. Maybe she could convince Marshall to let her finish her education here? Would Marshall let the gang join SPC? They were all fully capable…

But that was no guarantee that they wouldn't hate her after this was all over. She lied to them, multiple times. And would they be repulsed or take pity on her if they found out that she was adopted, and that she never really knew her parents?

She didn't want that, not at all.

Maka finally made her way to the locker room, and changed into her gym clothes quickly. Tsubaki saw her and walked over, a smile on her face.

Maka quickly cleared her face of any remorse that she might have. She didn't want Tsubaki worried about her.

"Hey, Maka!" Tsubaki gave her a slight wave, "I heard Coach Sid was going to teach us self-defense. Should be an interesting lesson, with Black*Star around!"

Maka nodded, "Yeah, definitely should be."

_Self-defense huh? Wonder why…_

"I wonder if we're going to be paired with someone to practice with…" Tsubaki looked thoughtful.

Maka took this opportunity to tease her, "Why, want Black*Star to be your partner?"

"N-no!" The older girl squeaked, her cheeks tinged pink.

Maka giggled, "I'm just kidding!"

The two girls walked out of the locker room and wandered to the court where the rest of the class was. They noticed the boys talking, and immediately they started to giggled because Soul's hair looked absolutely ridiculous.

Who wouldn't giggle at a teenage boy's hair that was dyed with streaks of purple?

Maka and Tsubaki weren't exactly discrete with their laughter, with Soul scowling at them and Kid and Black*Star snickering along with the girls.

The boys walked over to them and were about to say something, when Sid, their coach, spoke, "Today's going to be a little different. Instead of running laps and playing the assigned sports, Nygus and I have decided that we are going to teach you the basics of self-defense."

A boy from Nygus's class scoffed, "Why do we have to learn self-defense? We have powers we can use."

Nygus looked at the boy with hardened eyes, "What _is_ your power?"

The boy looked at her wearily, "X-ray vision."

"Now tell me, what good will that do for you in the event that someone attacks you?" She replied bluntly, a cool look on her face.

The boy stared at her, speechless.

Sid glanced at Nygus and coughed uneasily, "The point of this lesson is so you all can be prepared. No matter what your power is, there will be a situation where you will need to know how to defend yourselves. This first lesson will be simple; only working on blocks and such."

Nygus nodded to him, "Now, we're going to pair you up depending on your size. In real world, you won't come face to face with someone of your size."

As Nygus listed off the pairings, Maka pouted. She will admit she was a tiny person. Knowing her luck, she'll probably be paired with a random guy three times her size.

She only hoped it would be Soul, Kid, or Black*Star.

With a smirk, Soul gripped her shoulder in mock affection, "Aw man Maka. That must suck, being your size and all."

She was perfectly aware of how short she was. That didn't give him the right to acknowledge it. "And what exactly are you trying to tell me?"

His infuriating smirk grew wider, "It's no secret that you're short. You might as well be a twig."

She growled and threw his arm off, causing him and Black*Star to laugh. Karma must be affecting her in some way. Maybe she should have laid off a little bit on the prank…

She glared even harder at the two boys, "Oh, shut up."

Tsubaki gave Maka a sympathetic smile, "I'm sure it will be fine. You might even get paired up with one of us!"

As if only to contradict Tsubaki's statement, Nygus called out, "Maka Albarn and Jacob Maverick."

Black*Star and Soul ceased their laughter and cringed slightly. Kid and Tsubaki shot her a slightly worried look, which confused Maka.

"What, who is he?"

Kid nodded over to a hulking blond who was looking disapprovingly at Maka. Jacob was definitely very large and towered over Maka. She could see why her friends were uneasy about this arrangement.

Tsubaki peered over at the approaching boy, "He's a bit…"

"He's a total prick is what he is." Soul muttered, earning a nod of agreement from Black*Star and Kid.

Maka groaned, "_Great_."

Jacob walked over and introduced himself, obviously bored, "I'm Jacob."

Maka suppressed another groan and gave him a fake smile, "I'm Maka."

Obviously more blessed than her, Soul and Tsubaki were paired together, as were Kid and Black*Star, due to the lack of people in the class.

Maka ignored the worried glances they were all shooting her. They didn't know that she took combat classes, so they had the right to be nervous for her. This guy could have been a wrestler, he was that big. And his attitude rivaled that of a stuck up rich kid.

Jacob was apparently one of the people who believed that self-defense was not important because he kept on complaining in his sexist way that men like him shouldn't need to do this.

Maka kept her agitation in check and kept silent; doing the blocking motion that Sid was showing the class. Silence is golden, right?

"You know, I feel bad for you. It must suck being the new kid _and_ a gamma."

Maka nodded absentmindedly, looking at Soul and Tsubaki miserably. They looked back at her and mouthed that they were so sorry that she had to go through this. This was apparently the way Jacob acted, and it was beyond annoying. He repeated the same thing he's been saying in a different format, and it pissed Maka off. He was acting smart when in reality, he was a total idiot.

Soul looked over at her again, pissed that Maka got the short end of the stick with this partnership situation. It was obvious she didn't to be there and Soul couldn't but agree. Soul just wished it was him there and not Jacob.

"You okay Soul?" Tsubaki noticed how tense he looked.

"M'fine. Just sucks that Maka has to put up with that bastard."

"Yeah, I'm not too sure how long that's going to last. The girl has a temper." Black*Star, who was right next to them, chimed in.

Kid shrugged, "I wouldn't mind Maka putting him in his place."

No one answered him they watched Soul look over at Maka and Jacob with a deep scowl etching his face. Even though they were several spaces away from them, they could hear what they were saying perfectly. Indirect jabs were being made against Maka and Soul was not happy at all. Everyone around them was glancing over, completely aware of the words Jacob was saying. It was uncomfortable for all of them.

Soul growled slightly when Jacob's hand lingered over Maka's when he stopped her mock punch. Maka shook it off, not paying it any mind.

Soul was apparently not doing a very good job hiding his anger because Black*Star, the least attentive out of all of them, noticed the rage radiating off of him.

"You look a bit mad there, Soul." Black*Star raised an eyebrow at his friend.

Through gritted teeth, Soul said, "Like I said before, I just pissed that Maka has to put up with that bastard."

"You sure that's all it is?" Black*Star looked at his friend, confused. He didn't think that Maka being paired up with someone as annoying as Jacob would bother his friend this much.

Soul didn't answer, his sight still focused on Maka and her partner. He didn't know how to answer him. He wasn't sure if he was just mad because Maka deserved a better partner, or if it was something more to this.

But Soul had to admit, Maka was doing a good job keeping her own anger in check. Jacob was constantly explaining that there was no way that a girl of Maka's stature could take a guy like him and that Maka would go down in a heartbeat. That being a gamma _and_ a girl was pretty unfortunate if she had to go up against someone like him.

Black*Star glanced at Tsubaki, who shrugged her shoulders, as if she was equally confused. Soul was protective of his friends, but they never seen him get this angry. It was quite strange.

After several minutes of listening to Jacob rant, Black*Star had his eyes narrowed, while Tsubaki had a blank, yet stern expression that was considered a death sentence to anyone who knew her. Soul downright looked like he was going to murder someone. Kid, knowing that Maka came from a certain upbringing, was a lot calmer than his friends were.

"I mean, you look so fragile, being a tiny girl with a tremendously weak power. I feel bad."

Soul clenched his fists and was about to walk over to them when Kid stopped him, "Wait, Soul. Look."

He stopped and looked just in time to see Maka tense up in anger. Jacob has pushed her over her limit and Maka wasn't just going to sit back and absorb the insults anymore.

In one fluid motion, Maka grabbed Jacob's arms and kicked out his legs from under him, flipping him over her in the process. Everyone stopped in there random chatter and stared at the peculiar sight of girl flipping a boy twice her size.

In a fiery rage, she glared at the shocked boy, "I am _not_ fragile."

In a split second, Soul and Black*Star went from complete shock to laughing hysterically, while Kid and Tsubaki just smiled, amused at the scene. They walked over, completely abandoning their assignment and joined Maka.

Sid and Nygus glanced over, but went back to their original conversation. They knew the capabilities Maka had, so this didn't really concern them. They'll let the kids battle out this little squabble. And quite frankly, Jacob was beginning to annoy them as well.

"That was awesome! Maka Albarn, you are now one of my favorite people! Holy crap, priceless…" Black*Star pretended to wipe a tear from his eye.

"You know, I might just forgive you for dying my hair purple." Soul laughed, looking at Jacob with a sneer. Maka just huffed, still a little peeved at the earlier events.

Jacob got off of the ground slowly, looking at Maka wide eyed, "You crazy bitch…"

Maka just rolled her eyes, obviously tired of talking to the likes of him, but Soul's eye twitched in fury.

Soul was only an inch or two shorter than Jacob, so when Jacob rose from the ground, Soul wasn't in the least intimidated, "What did you just say?"

Jacob swallowed thickly, and glanced around, noticing his grave mistake in insulting Maka. He was severely outnumbered and none of his friends were anywhere to be seen. Not to mention that Soul's demon eyes looked downright terrifying when he was angry. And he was pissed.

But Jacob wasn't going to let someone who made friends with gammas show him up. And the girl needed to know her place.

"I said that blondie over here is a crazy bitch for attacking me like that."

Soul's eyes narrowed and clenched his fists. As much as he wanted to break this guys nose, he knew he couldn't because of the teachers.

So he went for the next best thing. Might as well get this guy out of his sight before Soul did anything he would regret.

"I suggest that you leave." He said in a deadly calm that would cause anyone to have shivers run up their spine.

Jacob's face glazed over and walked away without a question. Maka was about to ask Soul what that was all about, why he had to use his Persuasion on him, but she saw how his jaw was clenched and how hard he glared at Jacob, and she realized just how mad he was when he called her a bitch. Maka didn't care about what Jacob called her, but apparently Soul did.

It made her heart flutter.

Everyone was silent. No one really knew how to approach this situation, and were uncomfortable in the presence of Soul, who was still seething. Maka sifted slightly, desperately wanting someone to break the ice, to divert the attention to something more lighthearted.

Tsubaki also noticed the thick and awkward tension forming, and quickly granted Maka's wish, "Where did you learn how to flip him like that, Maka?"

Maka gave a grateful smile and shrugged, "My dad taught me. He's a stickler for making sure I know how to protect myself."

The anger slowly fading from his eyes, Soul looked at her and finally smiled, "That's pretty cool."

Maka shrugged, trying to calm the beating in her chest when she saw his smile.

_I'm really going to have to sort this out later._

Suddenly, Sid blew his whistle, not giving anyone to say anything else, "That's enough of blocking for the day, now run the courts. We have five minutes before you're due back in the locker rooms."

With a chorus of groans, everyone began to jog around the basketball courts. Kid jogged with Maka and was silent for a moment before discretely asking her, "You doing anything tonight?"

She looked at him suspiciously. Prank week _was_ still going on. It could be a trap.

Kid rolled his eyes at her blatant suspicion, "Look, tonight would be the perfect night to investigate more deeply. Everyone will be busy with the pranks."

She nodded slowly, finally knowing what he was talking about. They were still weary of Medusa, but they needed more information if they were to have the higher officials of the school look into it.

Kid lowered his voice, knowing that anyone could hear them, "I'll text you later."

He ran ahead, catching up with Black*Star, causing Maka to sigh. Looks like she would have to plan on how she was going to get out of tonight's prank, which she didn't even _know_ about yet…

_God, I hope I don't screw anything up..._

"Hey Maka." Soul ran up from behind her, snapping her out of her thoughts. "What did Kid want?"

Picking up her pace, Maka turned to look at Soul, "He just said that he was glad I didn't embarrass that Jacob guy too badly."

Soul nodded, not totally believing her. He eyed her for a moment before reluctantly shrugging it off. What she talked to Kid about was none of his business. It just confused him as to why he cared so much.

They ran together for the remainder of the class in comfortable silence, both lost in their own thoughts.

_What am I feeling?_

* * *

**I'm not going to lie, I struggled through that. I had some _major_ writer's block...**

**And I used Google translate for the Spanish excerpt, so I apologize for being horribly, horribly wrong on that.**

**Yeah, I have huge plans for the next chapter, and I am super excited to write it! It's going to be awesome! **

**So please review and tell me your thoughts!**


End file.
